How it All Began

How do you get adults to change the way they think about emergencies? How do you motivate people to assemble emergency kits and communication plans? The creators of STEP decided to leverage one of the greatest motivators in any parent’s life; their children. Educating upper elementary students with basic emergency preparedness skills would build a foundation for a truly prepared and resilient adult population in the long term and result in students implementing preparedness strategies in their homes immediately.

FEMA Region I, serving New England, prioritized the importance of reaching as many students as possible in an effort to get emergency kits and communication plans outfitted in as many families as possible. Therefore, it was clear that developing a program that was highly attractive to principals and teachers would be critically beneficial.

FEMA Region I, in partnership with Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA), solicited the help from North Providence’s 4th grade teachers. With a lot of research on preparing students for emergencies in hand, FEMA and RIEMA presented their model to the district’s 4th grade teaching staff in February of 2008. The teachers gave a lot of great feedback, tips, and lesson ideas that make up the base and supplemental lessons of today’s STEP curriculum.
Today, teachers in North Providence, RI join over 3,000 other instructors across the New England region that provide feedback on the current program and offer suggestions for new content materials. Check out the 2010 version of the STEP instructor’s guide to see 3 new lessons that were co-developed by teachers at the 4th and 5th grade level in the last 12 months.

Rhode Island Pilot Participants

  • Centredale Elementary School
  • Greystone School
  • James L. McGuire School
  • Joseph A. Whelan School
  • Marieville School
  • Stephen Olney School
  • Anna McCabe Elementary School
  • Boy Scouts of America – after school
  • Girl Scouts – after school program

Pilot Schools in New England

  • CT – Avon School District
  • CT – Seymour School District (3 schools)
  • CT – Wilton School District
  • MA – Boston Public Schools- 5 elementary schools within the Boston Public School System
  • MA – Saint Agatha Elementary School Milton, MA
  • MA – St. Theresa of Avila School West, Roxbury
  • ME – Various single schools across the state (10 schools total)
  • ME – MSAD #58 (4 schools)
  • ME – Franklin County School District
  • ME – Fayette Elementary School
  • ME – Knox County School (2 schools)
  • ME – Maranacook School District (4 schools)
  • ME – Oakland/Messalonskee School District (3 schools)
  • ME – Scarborough Intermediate School
  • ME – Waterville School District
  • ME – Wiscasset Primary School
  • NH – Hampstead Elementary School
  • NH – Portsmouth School District (3 schools)
  • VT – Barre City Elementary and Middle School

Total - 36 Schools, 16 districts, approximately 3,800 students