CALEDONIA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — A local school safety expert says parents should ask for a much information as possible before their kids’ first day of classes.

Jason Russell, the president and CEO of Secure Education Consultants in metro Grand Rapids, offered a security checklist to parents at a training session at Caledonia High School Thursday.

The list includes asking about whether the building has had a physical site assessment by a third party to consider security measures, whether there is an emergency response plan, whether the staff has been trained for emergency situations and whether there will be safety drills for students.

“In emergencies, human beings don’t rise to the occasion, they sink to the level of their training,” Russell said. “So really, training is probably the most important piece; more (important) than a written emergency plan or any of those other things is understanding how to respond when the event actually happens.”

He also suggested playing close attention to the setup of kids’ classrooms, looking at whether there is easy access to a window for evacuation or places to hide if a lockdown is ordered.

You should also talk to your kid about what to do in the event of a security threat.

Russell said several West Michigan schools reached out to him for training in light of other shootings across the country last school year.