Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Table of Contents
Introduction letter.....3 Acknowledgement Form.4 Rehearsal Dates....5 School-Based Crisis Response Team.....6 School Crisis Kits..9 District Crisis Response Team....10 Priorities for School Safety and Crisis Management....13 First Action...14 Fire Procedures.............15 Medical Protocols.......16 Communication During a Crisis.........18 Communicating with Stakeholders...19 Communication Tools.20 Key Messages.21 The Communications Department role22 Communications Department Members Roles During Crisis.....23 Post-Crisis Evaluation...24 Appendix A...26 Appendix B...27 Appendix C.......28 Appendix D29 Appendix E...30 Appendix F....31 Appendix G...32 Appendix H33 Appendix I.....34 Appendix J....35 Appendix K.......37 Appendix L....38 Appendix M...40 Appendix N...41 Appendix O...43
Introduction
We always hope and pray for the best and safest of environments for our students and employees, but the reality is things happen. We must be prepared to deal effectively with crises when they arise so that the business of educating children is as minimally impacted as possible. Events such as the type addressed in this document are not typical, but they can occur. When they do, we must make every effort to effectively communicate with all of our stakeholders to ensure the safety and security of our students and staff. I know that in the busy day-to-day business of education, that includes its own small crises, we can sometimes forget that larger, more serious events can occur that we must effectively handle. This crisis communications plan presents such an event. I hope you will take this document and study it. In the event of a crisis, we all must understanding our individual roles and expectations. We must be able to operate rapidly but thoughtfully as the situation unfolds. Thank you for your time and attention, and for agreeing to ensure that we as a school district will make every attempt to handle a major event quickly and effectively but using this document. Sincerely,
Acknowledgement Form
I, ________________________________________________, do hereby acknowledge that I have received this document as part of my membership to the crisis management team for ___________________________________________. I acknowledge that I have read the document and understand what may be expected of me in the event of a crisis situation.
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(Please return a copy of this form to human resources and a copy to your department manager.)
Rehearsal Dates
(See Appendix A for Rehearsal Protocol)
Rehearsal #1 January 23, 2012 Location: Myers Park High School Time: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Rehearsal #2 June 13, 2012 Location: Ardrey Kell High School Time: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The School-Based Crisis Response Team includes, but is not limited to, the following members: Principal Assistant Principal Administrative Assistant Personnel Head Custodian School Medical Personnel (nurse, social worker, psychologist, etc.) School Resource Officer/Security Associate Teachers SCRT duties and responsibilities are as follows: Principal Establish, maintain and lead the SCRT. Assign SCRT duties and responsibilities. Designate SCRT alternates. Ensure that all SCRT members understand their duties and responsibilities. Provide training, guidance, oversight and support to the SCRTs. Direct emergency operations until emergency-first responders arrive on scene. Serve as their liaison after their arrival. Implement evacuation procedures and measures to control access to affected areas as necessary. Coordinate with the central office for emergency services, operational, administrative and logistics support as required. Coordinate disaster assistance and recovery. Provide damage assessment information to the area superintendent. Ensure crisis training and exercises are conducted. Ensure that the police and fire departments remain integral parts of the SCRT planning, training and exercises.
Assistant Principal(s) Assume the leadership role for SCRT in the absence of the principal or when directed to do so by the principal. Direct and supervise school evacuations and lockdowns. Meet and direct emergency-first responders in times of crisis. Recommend ways to procure resources needed to train, exercise and support crisis situations. Administrative Assistant Personnel Provide operational, administrative and communications support to the SCRT. Act as recorder of meeting minutes and keeper of the communications, actions and events log during crises for future reference and audit purposes. Ensure that a primary and back-up means of technology within the central office exist at all times between: (1) the central office; (2) the police department; (3) the fire department; (4) emergency-first responders. Carry out duties as prescribed by the principal. Head Custodian Make available to the SCRT his or her exceptional knowledge of the buildings, grounds and facilities. School Medical Personnel (nurse, social worker, psychologist, etc.) Provide advice and expertise as required. Provide professional services to staff, students and parents when required. School Resource Officer/Security Associate Provide advice, expertise and recommendations as required. Perform law enforcement duties in support of school crisis management as required. Teachers Possess a sound working knowledge of the School Crisis Management Plan, especially procedures with respect to handling critical incidents, lockdowns, evacuations and critical incident communication codes. Protect the students at all times and to the best of their abilities, given the nature of the crisis situation. Develop crisis plans for special-needs and non-English speaking students. Evacuate students to safe areas or from the building when directed to do so in a safe and orderly manner. Account for the students in their charge at all times and carry an updated student roster for each class. Maintain order during student assemblies.
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Render assistance to other teachers under duress during crisis situations. Remain with assigned students throughout the duration of the emergency, until every student has been officially released. This includes carrying your student roster with you if the school has been evacuated. Look for warning signs that a serious incident is likely or predicted to occur. Such incidents include arson, school shootings, vandalism, suicides and assault. Offer suggestions and constructive criticism to the SCRT as necessary.
All Other School-Based Staff Responsibilities: Upon receiving information that a person is threatening to commit an act of violence, assume that the threat is serious. Immediately report a threat to the principal and/or law enforcement officer. Be available and cooperative in providing a statement of information, with the understanding that the information source will remain anonymous to the greatest extent possible. Student Responsibilities: Each student shares a responsibility for school safety. The principal, staff and faculty cannot ensure school safety without the cooperation and vigilant participation of the students. Upon receiving information that a person is threatening to commit an act of violence, assume that the threat is serious. Immediately report the threat to a parent, guardian, school staff, administrator or law enforcement officer as appropriate. Be available and cooperative in providing a statement of information, with the understanding that the information source will remain anonymous to the greatest extent possible. Parent Responsibilities: Upon receiving information that a person is threatening to commit an act of violence, assume that the threat is serious. Immediately report the threat to school staff or law enforcement officer as appropriate. Be available and cooperative in providing a statement of information, with the understanding that the information source will remain anonymous to the greatest extent possible.
Ensure that emergency-first responders are notified of and respond to the crisis. Respond to the emergency services needs of the school under crisis, including working with transportation staff to formulate bus routes. Coordinate vehicular and crowd management during the crisis, including cordoning off areas to preserve physical evidence.
Planning (Safety Director) Collect and analyze incident intelligence and information to develop chronology of incidents. Help identify bus routes to reroute students home. Develop and maintain incident documentation (number of students involved and who responded to the crisis). Logistics (Director of Property Management) Help establish communications for Incident Commander. Set up and maintain ICC. Install outside parking lot and directional signage at ICC. Install inside station and directional signage at ICC. Supervise all staff support, support operations and food distribution at the ICC. Finance (Chief Financial Officer) Oversee contract negotiating for materials needed pre- and post-crisis. Track all costs associated with the evacuation. Work with operations to ensure resources are procured. Supporting roles at the ICC include: Parent Center (Parent University staff): Provide initial information and directions to parents as they arrive; ensures staff follows protocol in releasing students to parents/guardians, and assist parents with identifying and locating their children. Student Escort (Exec. Dir. of Pre-K-12 Support Services): Escort students from containment to restrooms and other stations. Student Receiving (Legal Dept. staff): Check students in as they arrive; take down students names, identification number and neighborhood for group busing purposes. Student Instruction (Curriculum and Instruction staff): Provide support to teachers in keeping students engaged. Special population (Exceptional Children and ESL staff): Develops and implements a plan for addressing special needs population; identifies and secures special equipment (wheelchair ramp) and other resources (interpreter) for students. Student Center (Coordinated School Health and Pre-K-12 Support Services staff): Assist in meeting the needs of students during the evacuation. Monitor and provide assistance to all student-focused stations, including support, trauma and
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prevention and intervention. These stations will provide first aid, emotional and psychological support for students and staff. Staff Check In: Checks in staff members as they arrive at the evacuation site and provide vests and other information such as maps of the evacuation site. Staff Support (Volunteers and Partnership Department staff): Provides employee support by addressing fears, offering comfort and short relief periods from supervision. Support Operations (Maintenance staff): Monitors all stations and assists staff working the stations. Food Services Distribution (Child Nutrition Services Department staff): o Assess situation related to food service; distribute water/snacks for students with emergencies only and arrange for returning any leftover supplies to Child Nutrition stock. During a Level III Evacuation: no food/beverage will be provided for less than two hours, small quantities of packaged snack and bottled water will be provided for emergency use only (insulin reaction, dehydration, etc.) during a two-to-four hour evacuation. Student checkout (Student Placement staff): Oversees the process for releasing students, including developing strict guidelines for releasing them to their parents or guardians. The parent or guardian must identify the student by name and home address before they can be released.
The departments listed above are responsible for developing procedures and providing needed supplies to establish a station during a major evacuation of a school. When an evacuation is declared, the Incident Commander will notify the division heads of the evacuation site and activate the plan. The division heads will notify each station leader who will then notify their staff, gather materials and proceed to the evacuation site. Upon arriving, the leader and staff will set up their station and prepare for the arrival of students. Once students arrive, staff members will assist students, parents and school staff in maintaining a safe, comfortable evacuation site. Each station should maintain a log of activities and people seen during the evacuation. A debriefing will be scheduled for station leaders the following business day. City/County emergency contacts: CMPD CMSPD Fire EMT DSS
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First Action
Crisis Management Start-up Procedures 1. Confirm the membership of the School Crisis Response Team. 2. Review and re-affirm the roles and responsibilities of each SCRT team member. 3. Update SCRT rosters by name, duty position, address, home phone, cell phone and email address. (Appendix B) 4. Provide rosters to all SCRT members and other parties as deemed appropriate by the principal. 5. Forward a copy of the updated rosters to your zone. 6. Convene a meeting of the SCRT and supporting roles before the school year commences to review the School Crisis Management Plan, with emphasis on the critical-incident response checklists. 7. Convene a staff and faculty meeting before the school year commences to review the School Crisis Management Plan, distribute SCRT rosters and stress the importance of crisis prevention, preemption and response. Also, review with those gathered several possible crisis scenarios and how those scenarios would be handled. 8. Review critical incident communication codes with faculty and staff. 9. Update faculty phone tree. 10. Consider a back to school meeting with parents in the evening to explain the schools crisis management plan and answer questions.
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Fire Procedures
Sound alarm and evacuate the building. Call 911. Determine if there are any serious injuries. If serious injuries, evacuate the victims and render first aid. Notify school law enforcement, area superintendent and CMS Communications of: The fire. The time the 911 call was placed. The school evacuation. Any known injuries and extent of injuries. Notify parents/guardians/spouses/next of kin of those who sustained injuries. Provide assistance and comfort to family members arriving on the scene. Await the arrival of first responders; follow their instructions. When all clear is sounded by first responders: o Determine if classes will be resumed. o Determine if early dismissal must be called and transportation arrangements made. o Inform the central office of decisions. o Call an emergency staff meeting to discuss the event and lessons learned. o Advise staff of follow-up procedures.
Arson cases and fires School administrators have only administrative investigative responsibility. All fires will be investigated by fire investigators and/or police. In support of the investigative efforts by outside agencies, develop a list of events that have recently occurred in the school: disgruntled students/employees, prior fires, rivalry among students or between schools or gang activity. False fire alarms All false alarms should be reported to the alarm monitoring facility which will notify the fire department. Using a floor plan of the school, locate each fire alarm station on this plan. Each time an alarm is sounded, record the exact location, date, and time of alarm. The purpose is to develop a pattern to the alarms. By establishing a time pattern, one can assign staff to provide greater adult presence in halls and stairwells. If false fire alarms are a persistent problem, consider initiating a sign-in/sign-out log in each classroom. Have each teacher record the name, time, and destination of each student leaving the classroom, and the time each student returns. These lists will be a valuable asset in attempting to develop a list of suspects. Consideration should be given to installing special covers over the pull stations that will sound a local alarm prior to sending a general alarm. Schools using this type of device have found a marked decline in alarms. Before any such device is installed, check with the fire department to get their approval. Another consideration: A very effective tool in reducing false fire alarms is to involve the student body in a program which gives them some responsibilities for
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guarding fire pull stations. Generally this requires little time and causes very little disruption to the school program. Stationing students at key locations three to five minutes before and after classes change often eliminates false fire alarms.
(Source: Norfolk City Public Schools, Norfolk, VA)
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Medical protocols
Medical protocols are developed by the Department of Health Services for all students whose medical conditions require or may require assistance of school personnel. Classroom teachers and other staff who work directly with these students are provided information about the condition and a protocol to follow. Conditions which are almost always present in the student population and may require assistance include asthma, allergies, diabetes and epilepsy.
(Source: Virginia Department of Education)
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Communications tools
The Communications Department will immediately establish communication lines to everyone involved. This includes families, the public, non-speaking English community, emergency responders, media and community leaders. Communication lines include: Email lists Connect-ED Parent hotline (980-343-6192) CMS Internet and Intranet Social Media CMS TV-3 Media Email lists: Parents, CMS Alumni, volunteers, elected officials, business and faith leaders can subscribe to CMS Email alerts. The CMS Communications Department is responsible for emailing emergency information and breaking news to subscribers. Connect-ED: Connect-ED enables district and school administrators to alert parents and employees during emergency situations and to send information regarding student absences, open houses, field trips and other school news. Emergency alerts will be sent to up to six different contact numbers, including land line phones, cell phones and email. Parent hotline (980-343-6192) CMS can set up and operate a hotline for public queries either during regular business hours or 24/7 if the situation warrants. Staff and volunteers are trained to handle calls and make referrals. CMS maintains an external and internal Web site to inform employees and the community of new information. Social Media Facebook Twitter Podcasts YouTube Google+ LinkedIn Web sites: www.cms.k12.nc.us (homepage) http://my.cms.k12.nc.us ( intranet) Other communications tools DirectLine (CMS employee newsletter) District Review Helpful links on the website for background information CMS School Report cards Fact Sheets Building Data: (What year each school and facility was built)
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Key Messages
Student and employee safety is our main priority. Schools make every effort to keep students safe at all times, especially during a crisis. Information will be provided as soon as it is confirmed. First-responder agencies will handle investigative updates. The Communications Department will provide school updates as they become available. The Communications Department will also provide background information on the affected building(s).
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Media (media relations) Contact is generally channeled through the CMS media relations specialists, who man the Media Line (980-343-6243). If the media arrive on campus after report of a fire, school staff will ask them to park their news truck off campus so they will not disrupt the process. The media is not allowed on campus during a crisis or evacuation. The Communications Department will be available to provide communications expertise and work with the media. The Communications Department will coordinate with the principal or designee to get information that is shared with the media. This will ensure that school officials are able to concentrate on their stakeholders without distraction. It is important for principals to advise school staff of media procedures. Instruct all employees to refer all media information and questions to the Communications Department. Remind employees that only a designated spokesperson from the Communications Department is authorized to talk with news media about a crisis until it is resolved. Monitoring organization on the Internet (multimedia) The Internet provides countless opportunities for people to share their views with the rest of the world and the fact that they can do so anonymously presents a unique set of problems if what they post online is derogatory. Communicating with Board members and administration (executive director) Dealing with staff and students (multimedia) Assist school with communications, as needed. Communicating with parents and the community (multimedia)
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Post-Crisis Evaluation
After the immediate crisis is over, the SCRT must: Submit a Crisis Response Report to Zone offices (Appendix K) Have stakeholders complete Crisis Evaluation forms (Appendix L) Work with Communications Department to plan meetings for parents, community Disseminate information to parents Post-crisis tips for parent (Appendix M) How parents can help make schools safe (Appendix N) Online resources on fire safety (Appendix O)
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(SCHOOL LETTERHEAD)
Parent Letter
XXX, 201X
Dear XX parents,
At XX, our focus is to provide your child with a quality education in a safe and orderly environment. I believe that it is important for me to keep the lines of communication open with parents and to make you aware when a situation arises at our school. Today, an incident occurred that I want to share with you. At approximately xx:xx, a small fire began (in the bathroom in the XX hall, in one of our mobile units, etc.). School officials immediately called the fire department and evacuated the buildings. The fire was put out quickly. Students were outside for just a short time before the fire department gave us the all-clear to go back inside. The evacuation plan worked exactly as it is supposed to and all students are safe. We are continuing with normal instruction today and the damage is being repaired. We are investigating the cause of the fire and will inform you when that cause is determined. Please know we make every effort to keep our schools safe for staff and students. I would also ask that you take this time to discuss fire safety tips with your child at home, including fire prevention and evacuation planning. Ive included tips you can use on the second page of this letter. More information on fire safety can also be found through links on our school website. Thank you for your involvement in your childs education and your partnership with XX. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me at 980-343-XXXX. Sincerely,
Principal
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Appendix H:
STAKEHOLDER CONTACT COMMUNICATION SHEET (one per team member) Stakeholder: _______________________ Responsible party:___________________
Time Media Message Feedback (if applicable)
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Appendix J:
SCHOOL LETTERHEAD
Principal
(Source: Norfolk City Public Schools, Norfolk, VA)
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SCHOOL LETTERHEAD
Principal
(Source: Norfolk City Public Schools, Norfolk, VA)
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Appendix K:
Crisis Response Report for Zones School Crisis Response Team Report
(Due within 3 days of incident) Date: Description of incident (include date, time, place): Immediate actions by School Crisis Response Team: Describe assistance provided by Emergency Services: Describe assistance provided by other community agencies/organizations: Follow-up which has occurred/is occurring: With students: With faculty/staff: With parent(s)/guardian(s) of student(s) involved: With community: Recommendations to improve responses to such crises in the future: _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
Principal Signature
Date
* Attach a list of students, parents and community members directly involved in the fire including their names, addresses and phone numbers.
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3. Effectiveness of SCRTs responses in meeting students needs: ____________ ____________ ____________ not helpful adequate very helpful 4. Assistance to teachers in the classroom: ____________ ____________ not supportive adequate
5. Quality of communication with the school faculty and staff: ____________ ____________ ____________ not informative adequate very explanatory 6. Support and guidance to individual teachers and staff: ____________ ____________ ineffective adequate 7. Assistance to the administrative staff: ____________ ____________ limited adequate 8. Amount of time allocated for intervention: ____________ ____________ insufficient adequate 9. Support to families in need: ____________ lacking
____________ comprehensive
____________ adequate
____________ outstanding
____________ thorough 38
II. Please circle the adjectives which best describe the students reactions to the SCRTs intervention: Satisfied ___________ Angry _____________ Ambivalent _________ Grateful ____________ Relieved ___________ Positive ___________ Negative __________ Receptive __________ Hostile ____________ Apathetic __________
III. Please describe any significant reactions the students had to the SCRT intervention which should be considered in future interventions.
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US Fire Administration for Kids: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/kids/ PBS Kids Fire Safety Tips: http://pbskids.org/arthur/firesafety/index.html Fire Safety for Parents: http://www.firesafetyforkids.org/parents.html Livestrong.com Fire Safety Tips for Parents: www.livestrong.com/article/212940fire-safety-tips-for-parents/ Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS): http://www.samhsa.gov/cmhs/htm National Law-Related Education Resource Center: www.abanet.org/publiced/nlr National Safe Schools Resource Center: www.nwrel.org/safe/index.html National Safety Council: http://www.nsc.org National School Safety Center: www.nssc1.org
Local resources: Charlotte Fire Department: http://charmeck.org/city/charlotte/Fire/Pages/default.aspx Charlotte Fire Department Station Locations: http://charmeck.org/city/charlotte/Fire/FireStations/Pages/default.aspx Charlotte Fire Department YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=CharlotteFireDept#p/u Charlotte Fire Department Blog: http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/members/CharlotteFireDept/newwith/me Charlotte Fire Department Public Information: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Charlotte_FD/
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