By Mary Frost
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN -- Want to know what to do when disaster strikes? Maybe you should ask a kid.

Students from Brooklyn’s District 13 may soon be the most prepared folks in New York City, thanks to a pilot program designed by the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and the city’s Department of Education.

Through the Ready New York for Kids program, children of all ages in 46 public schools throughout Fort Greene, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brooklyn Heights will learn the key steps in preparing for all kinds of emergencies.

Students, parents and teachers will attend workshops and assemblies conducted by specially trained OEM staff, and will start the process of Making a Plan, preparing Stay-at-Home Kits and getting their “Go Bags� ready. After the program has been evaluated and tweaked, it will roll out to schools throughout the city.

“This is the second phase of Ready New York for Kids,� said Joseph Bruno, commissioner of the Office of Emergency Management, at a kickoff meeting at the OEM in Downtown Brooklyn this past Friday. Bruno told dozens of District 13 parent coordinators that the program has already distributed more than six million preparedness guides in 14 languages, with funding help from Con Edison.

“We’re trying to get to families through their schoolchildren,� he said. “In this second stage, students participate in in-school and after-school workshops, learn preparedness and bring it home.�

Katherine Grim, deputy chancellor of finance and administration for the DOE, said creating a safe environment in the schools is one of Mayor Bloomberg’s key areas of focus. “Just as we give children educational tools, we have to prepare them for emergencies.� Parent coordinators are an important element in the plan, she said.

Keisha Husbands, Ready New York outreach coordinator, explained that there are two guides, one for elementary school students and another for middle through high school level. The younger children learn the basics using fun skits and colorful posters illustrating key concepts.

Xbox in a Go Bag?

To give the parent coordinators a taste of what the upcoming workshops will be like, she walked them through some sample exercises. “What do you want to put in your Go Bag,� she asked. “An Xbox?� Participants ventured necessary items like toothbrushes, a flashlight, radio with batteries and important phone numbers.

Ready New York for Kids builds on the emergency procedures already in place in New York City schools, said Dr. James Machen, superintendent of District 13. “We have emergency plans and review them frequently. These include monthly fire drills and additional drills to make sure the kids can evacuate the building if necessary.�

Charles Pomaro, assistant principal of student and parent engagement at Brooklyn Tech High School, said the school of 4,700 students had extensive emergency plans, with meetings, drills and an emergency evacuation plan in place. “Teachers have a roster with phone numbers they carry out of the building,� so that parents can be contacted, he said. Pomaro is one of the founders of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) One in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

Precious Jones-Walker, District 13 family advocate, was stuck on the Belt Parkway trying to get to school on Sept. 11, 2001. “September 11 caught us off guard. Now we see how important it is to be prepared in case of emergency.�

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