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Saturday, July 5th, 2008

Resources on Crisis Management and Planning

The Center for Safe Schools provides assistance in reviewing school safety policies and response procedures. There are no "standard procedures" for dealing with violent situations in all schools. Please consider the information and resources below as a starting point to inform your work on a local level.

Practice improved information sharing across all levels of school staff, faculty, administrators, students and parents. Train all persons in the school setting how they can be involved in surveillance of the school environment and how to report threats of violence to school authorities. Strategies for information sharing may include a hotline mechanism to receive feedback from students and parents.

Develop a plan for acting on actual threats and take every threat, rumor or tip seriously using the plan. Establish a protocol for handling threatening calls and make sure all staff are trained in those procedures. Consider setting up an anonymous tipline or e-mail box for students to report potential incidents.

Make sure there is only one accessible entrance to the building with clear markings to the office and procedures for visitors. All doors can serve as exits in emergency situations but they should not serve as an entry point during school hours. There needs to be some way of monitoring incoming people, legitimate or not. Do a safety assessment of the building including the interior/exterior, traffic control, parking/grounds, landscaping. Gather safety information from students, faculty and staff by asking them to identify places on school property where they do not feel safe.

Train counselors to deal effectively with violent students and how to work with the family and the school. Mobilize student assistance and mental health professionals in the district and community to discuss postvention procedures before they become necessary. Opportunities to debrief need to be provided as soon as possible following a crisis, even if the crisis was not experienced directly by all members of the school community.

The Center for Safe Schools is working to assist schools and communities in their violence prevention efforts by providing educators and students with the resources necessary to create positive learning environments. The Center for Safe Schools seeks creative and effective solutions to problems that disrupt the educational process and affect school safety. Training, technical assistance and a clearinghouse of resources are available through the Center to help schools and communities identify and implement effective programs and practices. Our staff are available to provide ongoing support to schools and can be reached by calling 717-763-1661.

Resources

Guidance and Resources to Help Plan for Terroristic Threats or Acts of Terrorism
This document was prepared in response to many requests from parents and school administrators concerned about how schools should prepare to respond to biological, chemical, and radiological terrorism.

Developing Good Crisis Plans
This paper offers guidelines for what to do when a crisis happens in your district. It was originally published in September, 1997. The author, Mary Margaret Kerr, Ed.D. is the Director of Outreach Services at the STAR-Center, University of Pittsburgh and the former Director of Pupil Services for the Pittsburgh City Schools. Dr. Kerr has provided over 500 crisis consultations in Pennsylvania and in other states, including the Oklahoma City bombing, the TWA 800 and Flight 427 crashes.

Guidelines for Bio/Chemical Concerns in the Schools
 This check list has been developed to provide technical assistance to schools in response to expressed bio/chemical concerns. The information is provided by the Center for Safe Schools working in partnership with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.

Assessing Threats of Violence (June 11, 2001)
Resources to help educators plan and respond to incidents that threaten the safety of students and staff.

School Preparedness
On March 6, 2003, the U.S. Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced a new web site that provides educators and school administrators with key emergency information to include in their own preparedness plans. The website includes information covering a variety of emergencies, including natural disasters, violent incidents, and terrorist acts.

SARS - Guidelines for Schools
The CDC is working with domestic and international partners to prepare for the possible re-emergence of SARS. They have compiled an interim guidance document during the SARS outbreak of February-July 2003.
Interim Domestic Guidance for Health Departments in the Management of School Students Exposed to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) pdf file

Bomb Threat Checklist
Developed by the United States Department of Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (pdf file)

Homeland Security Disaster Preparedness
Link to Pennsylvania's Homeland Security page on Disaster Preparedness. (www.homelandsecurity.state.pa.us)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Emergency Preparedness and Response Website

United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service Emergency Preparedness Plan for Protecting Employees and Customers from Exposure to Biohazardous Material and for Ensuring Mail Security Against Bioterror Attacks,click here for pdf file

Talking with Children about Disaster (September 12, 2001)
The Center for Safe Schools has compiled a listing of resources from many organizations to assist schools and parents in talking with children about the recent attack on our country and the effects these tragedies will have on our lives. (click here)

To access many of the resources available through the Center's web site, you will need Adobe's Acrobat Reader version 4.0 or higher installed on your computer. To get a FREE version of Adobe's Acrobat Reader software, along with web site access to Adobe's Installation Instructions and Technical Troubleshooting Guide, go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html

Connect for Kids
Even with the healing passage of time, children can have trouble handling the emotions of fear, anger and grief, and the continuing national war on terrorism raises the emotional stakes. Connect for Kids has compiled resources to help.

American School Counselor Association
ASCA supports school counselors' efforts to help students focus on academic, personal/social and career development so they not only achieve success in school but are prepared to lead fulfilling lives as responsible members of society. The association provides professional development, publications and other resources, research and advocacy to more than 14,000 professional school counselors around the globe.

National Association of School Psychologists NASP
NASP will continue to add new resources that offer useful information on what to look for in children, what to say, and how adults can help. Current topics addressed include coping with terrorism, promoting tolerance, recognizing severe trauma reaction, managing anger and other strong emotions, preventing suicide, school memorials, children and war, and helping children with special needs cope. Some handouts are translated into other languages.

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has compiled resources to assist parents and children in coping with events like the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, or other national disasters.

American Academy of Pediatricians
Children, Terrorism and Disasters - Disaster preparedness to meet children's needs, information for pediatricians.

The National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) provides resources for victims and survivors, crisis intervention and psychological trauma.