Quick Response
It was March 11, 2011, the day Japan suffered three major disasters in succession: a 9.0-magnitude earthquake, which triggered extremely destructive tsunami waves of up to 40.5 meters (133 feet) that battered the coastal region of the Tohoku area in northern Japan, which resulted in a malfunction of a nuclear reactor complex in Fukushima Prefecture.
At Aoba-Japan International School (A-JIS) in Tokyo, the faculty and staff were as yet unaware of the triple blow being delivered to the island of Honshu, but they were well prepared to take immediate action the instant the earthquake began.
Brent Carlson is part of the Technology Solutions Team at Sentree, which provides technical support to the school. Carlson attended iRU in Northampton in May, 2011. During his visit here, he recounted the story of how iR’s BROADCASTER email system helped the school communicate with parents during the crisis.
“It was near the end of the school day,” Carlson explained, “shortly before 3 p.m. It was clear: this was a heavy-duty earthquake. I had never felt anything like that in nearly 22 years living in Japan. The school faculty and staff immediately set about getting the children safely out of the building and onto the playground. The quake lasted three to five minutes; the aftershocks started 20 minutes later and lasted for weeks.
“Peter Mears, also part of the Sentree team, and A-JIS Admin/Webmaster Brett Cavanagh-Ochiai grabbed their laptops as everyone evacuated the building. Peter checked the network: wireless was working. However, all cell phone services were down as were the land-line telephones. There was only the internet for communication with the families.
“Peter and Brett set to work. First they posted an update on the school’s Finalsite home page. Then Peter got BROADCASTER going. The first message sent out was to parents, reassuring them that their children were safe. Peter and Brett sent out many broadcasts messages that afternoon and evening. The busses took a long time to get to their destinations due to severe traffic congestion in the greater Tokyo area, but the school was able to give continuous updates to parents through BROADCASTER and via the school website.
“Even though everyone was understandably nervous, the evacuation went smoothly and Peter was able to do the broadcasts from the playground because we had wireless service available out there.”
Carlson shared a link to a web site that shows the succession of real-time tremors that pounded Japan that day [check the Sticky Dots box for a dramatic effect]:
http://www.japanquakemap.com
A-JIS urges all schools and families to be diligent with keeping contact information up-to-date.
A-JIS had implemented FAM in January, 2011, just a couple of months before the earthquake. Many families had checked into the online module and confirmed their personal contact information as well as the emergency contact information listed for each family. However, some families had not logged into FAM and did have outdated contact information so it was difficult for the school to get a hold of these people. A-JIS urges all schools and families to be diligent with keeping contact information up-to-date.
Aoba-Japan International School (A-JIS)—which has been a client of iR since 2009—embraces the philosophy “Learning in itself is a way of life.”
The school web site explains:
We all want the same things for our children. We want them to be safe, happy, to do the right thing, to be successful, to have meaningful friendships, to learn about themselves and the world around them, and to have the best possible future. At Aoba-Japan International School (A-JIS), we provide a high quality education that helps students realize their full potential. It is our goal to help every student be the best they can be.
Founded in 1976, A-JIS is a Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12, coeducational school for internationally minded families residing in Tokyo. We are a non-secular school, welcoming and respecting families from all nationalities and religions. We aim to provide learning opportunities that appropriately challenge every student, allowing them to happily learn in a safe and caring environment. Our experienced faculty endeavors to utilize best pedagogical practices based on current research to provide students with a wide variety of opportunities for success.
We provide a comprehensive curriculum, addressing all academic areas, including: English language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, Japanese language classes, music, fine arts, physical education and technology/computers.
Learn more about Aoba-Japan International School.
iR's BROADCASTER is the broadcast email tool that is built in to every iR solution, allowing for easy, efficient communication with any group of constituents without having to export.
