San Antonio – A local school district and first responder are reminding parents about the importance of educating their children on when, why and how to call for help in emergencies.
This comes after a student and a teacher were killed and several others injured during a school shooting at a private Christian school in Wisconsin.
“It is absolutely heartbreaking, it is awful,” said Aubrey Chancellor, executive director of communications at North East ISD. “‘Our hearts go out to every single staff and student. It is unthinkable, and unfortunately, it happens far too often at this point.”
“We always encourage people to introduce the theory of calling 911 to children as early as possible,” said Joe Arrington, public information officer with the San Antonio Fire Department. “It all really depends on the child. As a parent, you know the comprehension level of that child.”
Arrington said studies have shown them that ages three to four is the ideal time to plant that seed.
It is a fact that Chancellor agrees with.
“We start talking to students as soon as they get to us in pre-kindergarten,” said Chancellor. “We are talking about 4-year-olds. We hammer home that concept. We are going through that with them, but as a parent, you can never start too early. As soon as a child is able to talk and able to dial, you can start having those conversations. It is never too early.”
Arrington said during their school visits, they not only educate children on the severity behind calling 911 but also break down what a true emergency is.
“I can say when we do get calls from children, 99 percent of the time, it is a true emergency,” Arrington said. “Unconscious loved one, a fire, a traffic accident, things like that where you are going to need immediate care or assistance from police or fire and EMS. As an adult, it is our responsibilityvto teach them what is an emergent and what isn’t.”
He added practicing hypothetical situations — such as exit drills you would do at home during a house fire — is a great way for parents to keep their kids informed.
Chancellor added that despite cell phone policies in their schools, parents should be at peace knowing that phones are typically prohibited from being out during instruction.
“That still means they are in their backpacks,” she said. “There is still access to phones in emergency situation regardless if they are supposed to be up during instructional time. In addition, a lot of the classrooms have landlines still.”
In the end, if you have to call 911, remember to be confident with stating who you are, why you are calling and where you are calling from, no matter how old you are.
“That is the key,” Arrington said. “At such a young age, kids really do make a difference a lot of (the) time when they call 911. They might not even understand why they are calling and they are confident to get the resources going, the fact that they do is a matter of life or death.”
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