School Crisis and Critical Incident Planning.  Part I.

 

MAKES SENSE to define our terms before we go any further in this crucial area of school safety.  Let’s git ‘er done, then:

 

“Crises” includes situations involving the (serious) injury or death of a student, staff member, or a member of a student’s immediate family by suicide, substance abuse, illness, or accident.  The principal shall have the authority to determine what is a crisis incident and to convene the Crisis Management Team.

 

“Critical Incidents” should involve threats of harm to students, personnel, or facilities.  Critical incidents include but are not limited to natural disasters, fire, use of weapons/explosives, and the taking of hostages.  Such incidents require an interagency response involving law enforcement and/or emergency services agencies.

 

I WILL be discussing specific Crisis Management Plans and Procedures to specific “disasters and calamities (my terms)” in and around the school in future posts, but in this particular post I am going to talk about what a Crisis Management Plan should generally look like.

 

THE GENERIC BUT BEAUTIFUL CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLAN

 

1. Select Personnel For and Institute a Crisis Management Team (more on the composition of your team in future posts).
2. Develop procedures for dealing with existing and potential student and school crises.
3. Intervention Procedures.  Develop a systematic process for identifying. Referring, and assessing students who may be suicidal and/or represent a substantial threat to others
   • Crisis teams established in each school provide immediate intervention with referred students.
   • Team members will have been to assess and respond accordingly.
   • Crisis Response Procedures will guide staff in responding to more frequently occurring crises, such as deaths of students or teachers and other traumatic events.
   • The Crisis Team uses crisis response procedures to help administrators:

Ø gather information;

Ø establish communications with traumatized parties;

Ø disseminate accurate information to faculty and students;

Ø intervene directly with affected students;

Ø increase available supportive counseling.

 

Next Post:  Critical Incident Planning in our Schools.

 

Until then.  Stay Safe.

 

Harmmer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted on February 16th, 2009 by Harry A Widger
Filed under: Administrators, Building safety, College, Disasters, High School, K-6, Parents, People Involved, School Grade Level, School Safety Issues, Security, Students