Crisis Plan
In anticipation of a crisis event, the CIT should identify all necessary tasks for handling the incident and assign staff members for each task. Tasks might include:
- informing the district office
- accompanying injured students and/or staff to hospitals
- maintaining order and calm on campus
- coordinating transportation
- coordinating communication among the school, parents, and the media
- identifying students and adults who were injured or killed
- notifying parents and spouses.
The principal generally assumes authority in a crisis situation. Someone should be designated to fill this role in the event the principal is away from the building or incapacitated by the crisis event. A list of crisis-management procedures and the names of those responsible for various tasks should be posted in the school office, given to all staff, and maintained in the district office.
Once a crisis plan is developed, school staff should participate in training in crisis-intervention procedures and learn their responsibilities. Students should also receive crisis-management training and should have opportunities to practice emergency procedures. All school personnel need to be prepared to deal with a crisis situation. There will be occasions when administrators, counselors, and psychologists cannot provide immediate assistance to all who need it. General and special education teachers can be valuable in crisis intervention by providing immediate assistance to restore normality and to minimize lasting debilitating effects. They should:
- Announce events to students after facts are obtained through appropriate channels. Announcements should be factual and presented in a calm manner using age-appropriate terminology. Unnecessary or confusing details should be avoided.
- Lead class discussions about the event. Discussions should focus on feelings, not opinions.
- Identify students in need of counseling. It is necessary to be alert for those students whose reactions are more extreme than the norm and refer them to an appropriate counselor or resource person.
- Generate activities to reduce the impact of trauma. Students should be given permission to express feelings. It is important to help students understand that they may be flooded with waves of emotion and that there is more than one way to deal with feelings.
- Structure and shorten assignments.
- Postpone testing
Once an intervention plan for disruption has been developed, all members of each school staff within a district need to receive training that provides an overview of the plan and prepares each individual to fulfill a designated role should a disruptive crisis occur.
Off-campus resources like police and fire departments and mental health agencies also need to be informed about the plan and their potential involvement.
A specific mechanism should be designed at the building and district level that will facilitate an immediate meeting of all necessary CIT members should the need arise. Many districts with crisis-intervention plans have specified phone trees to fulfill this purpose. In addition, key administrative personnel wear beepers and frequently have cell phones.
Parents should also be apprised of how potential crisis situations are handled within the building and/or district. School procedures for dealing with a crisis or emergency situation can be published in student and/or parent handbooks. Reminders can be printed in school newsletters. Inservice sessions can be presented at meetings parents attend (e.g., Parent Teacher Organization meetings and Back to School Night).
More on Helping Students Deal With Crises.
Excerpted from Disruption, Disaster, and Death: Helping Students Deal with Crises.
