What We Do

We share information about preparedness efforts happening at our schools. We want to help others replicate our successes and avoid our challenges at their own schools.

We talk about how to:

• Develop productive relationships with school administrators and educators
• Improve earthquake drills
• Make classrooms safer through non-structural hazard mitigation (e.g., furniture strapping)
• Initiate parent/child reunification drills
• Store emergency supplies

Some of our members do educational outreach to increase awareness of earthquake risks and provide information about how to prepare. We do presentations for Parent Teacher Associations/Organizations (PTAs & PTOs), after-school programs, preschools, and daycares. To request a presentation in the Portland area, contact us at parents4preparedness@gmail.com.

Several P4P leaders are advocating at the local (school board) and state (legislature) level. The type of work we’re doing should be institutionalized – so that ALL children can benefit. We believe it’s an equity issue that needs to be addressed. We hope to provide local and state decision makers with information creative ideas about how they can contribute to student and staff safety.

Most of P4P members are parents with children in Portland Public Schools (PPS). Much of the information we share in person and on our Basecamp site centers around PPS issues, policies, and procedures. But we think that much of what we discuss could be useful for those in other districts/states.

If you do similar work at your school, we encourage you to reach out to P4P members on our Basecamp site for advice and support. And we hope you’ll share what you learn with us. As we learn more, we will continue to add to this website.