LULING, La. (WGNO) — Lessons learned during Hurricane Ida are shaping the state superintendent’s plan for facing the next hurricane with a new “Hurricane Preparedness Playbook.”
The Louisiana Department of Education’s new “Hurricane Preparedness Playbook” is a guide filled with recommendations for teachers and schools on how to handle the worst of storms.
Schools across Louisiana were damaged by Hurricane Ida’s powerful wind and rain.
“I’ve been an administrator for 20-plus years and never had I experienced anything like Hurricane Ida, not expecting the damage we had,” said Lakewood Elementary School Principal Kelli Oertling.
Oertling said lessons were learned during Ida and that knowledge is now part of the Louisiana Department of Education’s new state-wide “Hurricane Preparedness Playbook.”
Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley said, “We want to have it in the hands of leaders, so they better understand how to prepare in their off-season, immediate lead up to a storm, how to immediately respond, and how to recover.”
Looking through the playbook, you’ll see items about collecting emergency information, doing supply inventory, moving buses, plans for generators and communication, dealing with displaced students, and creating reopening plans.
“It lays all those elements through the expertise of the commission members who have gone through this process before,” Brumley said.
This playbook was put together with students’ safety in mind.
“A lot of trees were down, and it looked like a windstorm. It was just crazy,” Lakewood Elementary 5th Grader Oliva Kremer remembers Ida well, and she likes what her teachers have told her so far about the hurricane help.
“I think it is going to work,” Kremer said.
“Ultimately the students across the state of Louisiana can get the education that they so need and deserve,” Brumley said.
Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.
