MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 19, 2015
Yvette Urrea Moe (County) 619-595-4632/858-245-9366
Lisa Contreras (SDCOE) 858-292-3505/619-456-1205
Linda Zintz (San Diego Unified) 619-725-5578/619-847-6637
STUDENTS BEGIN NEW DISASTER CURRICULUM
County Office of Emergency Services Creates Lesson Plans for Elementary Students
WHAT: The San Diego County Office of Emergency Services (OES) and the San Diego County Office of Education have partnered in the creation of an elementary school curriculum that focuses on the science behind natural disasters and includes safety information that could be lifesaving to students and their families. Students can learn about natural disasters that can occur here, such as earthquakes and wildfires, and also those that occur in other parts of the country and the world, including hurricanes, tornadoes, and volcanic eruptions.
The interactive curriculum will study geological processes of the Earth and how natural disasters occur. The students are also tasked with real world applications, such as conducting a safety fair for younger students and the community to help them “Be Aware! Be Prepared!” in a natural disaster. The curriculum incorporates Common Core State Standards for language arts and science. San Diego Unified is the first district in the County to implement the new curriculum.
Media are invited to visit a fifth grade classroom and speak with the County OES director and a County Office of Education English language arts coordinator who helped develop the new curriculum and students learning the lesson.
WHEN: 10:05-10:35 a.m., Friday, February 20
WHERE: Benchley-Weinberger Elementary School, 6269 Twin Lake Drive, San Diego 92119 (Media truck access on Gloria Lake Avenue)
WHO: Holly Crawford, Director, County Office of Emergency Services
Kira Shearer, English Language Arts Coordinator, San Diego County Office of Education
Jan Armstrong, Fifth Grade Teacher at Benchley-Weinberger
Fifth Grade Students
WHY: San Diego County has proclaimed local emergencies three times over the past 11 years. OES recognizes the importance of children understanding why these emergencies happen and how they can remain safe. The County is enlisting the help of students and the community to prepare for natural disasters by understanding the science behind them. Students will learn to become disaster ready, helping ultimately to lessen or prevent devastating outcomes.
VISUALS: Classroom of students learning about wildfires from the new curriculum.
# # # # #
Posts
