The Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools (MCVTS) is the Lead Educational Agency (LEA) for the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Grant for Middlesex County (REMS).  In addition to the LEA, other public, private and parochial schools are involved in this important initiative.  The schools have initiated collaborative partnerships with various community agencies to improve the safety of the students. 

The Middlesex County Office of the Executive Superintendent has as one of its primary responsibilities to assist school districts in meeting their statutory responsibilities through technical assistance, interpreting state education policies, rules and regulations.  The County Executive Superintendent planned and directed the development of the REMS Project to engage the schools in Middlesex County in the process of meeting state standards in developing, augmenting and implementing all-hazards emergency plans.

The collaborative partnership between the County Executive Superintendent and MCVTS provided the opportunity for more than 200 Middlesex County schools, public, private and parochial, to improve and strengthen their emergency plans.  The REMS Project launched a county-wide approach to responding to the four phases of emergency planning; Mitigation/Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Recovery by providing the opportunity for school districts to interact on a county-wide basis in a collaborative manner.  The training and technical assistance provided by the REMS Project is designed to give the school districts models, examples, and templates of evidence-informed approaches to help victims of disasters and “Best Practices” in the field of Emergency Management.

The  Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS), formerly known as the Emergency Response Crisis Management grant is funded by the US Department of Education’s  Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools.  Middlesex County received the only grant in New Jersey for fiscal year 2006.