Running head: CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLANNING 1

Crisis Management Planning and Evaluation

Teresa Southworth

Liberty University

EDCE 611
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Crisis Management Planning and Evaluation

What is Crisis?

A crisis is anything that requires immediate attention. In the school setting this may include, but

not be limited to natural disasters, such as tornadoes, fires, and earthquakes that happen during

the immediate school year. It may include violence on the school campus, such as one student

shooting another student, faculty member, or staff member. Accidents or acts of terrorism are

considered a crisis due to the aftereffects that result from the devastation. A crisis is often

considered the result of a death of a student or a staff member and can include the death of a

students family member or staffs family member, whether it be accidental, suicidal, or a

terminal illness (Crisis Intervention, n.d.). According to Virginia Department of Educations

Model School Crisis Management Plan (2002) besides the afore mentioned examples, school

principals shall have the authority to determine what constitutes a crisis and to convene the Crisis

Management Team (p.1).

Crisis Management Plan

The Crisis Management Plan is a design that each school sets in place to determine the

appropriate plan of action in case a crisis situation occurs. Virginia DOE recommends that

schools include provisions for Pre-planning, Intervention/Response, and Post-emergency

activities (Crisis Management, 2002). The Virginia DOE suggests the following establishments:

(Crisis Management, 2002, pp. 2-3)

1. Explicit procedures of each crisis incident
2. Crisis headquarters and command post outside the school facility in the event

evacuation is necessary.
3. Chain of command in the event a key administrator is not available.
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4. Spokesperson to the media. This person will be the principal or designee and is

responsible for gathering and confirming all pertinent information about the incident

and for informing the school divisions public information officer prior to any media

release.
5. Network of key communicator. It is the responsibility of these key individuals to

convey approved information to others.

6. Communication plan within the school and the community.
7. Critical Incident Management. Critical incident response will be in accordance with

the Memoranda of Understanding executed between the school district and area

Departments of Police, of Fire, and of Emergency Services.

8. Arrangement for support services. One individual from the Crisis Management Team

will be designated to contact the school board office and to contact other community

resources such as Mental Health Crisis Services, as needed.

9. Bring closure to the crisis. It is imperative to recognize and officially the end of the

crisis and the beginning of the healing process.

10. Evaluation of the crisis plan. Response to each crisis incident will be reviewed and

evaluated at the conclusion of each crisis. Crisis Management Team will evaluate the

plan and its effectiveness and make modifications as needed.

Crisis Management Team
The Crisis Management Team consists of a group of individuals that possess the

knowledge and skills that are needed to perform the duties required to act in a crisis situation.
If applicable, the group usually consist of individuals such as, principals, school counselors,

school psychologist, teachers, and school social workers (Crisis Management, 2002).
School counselors are an instrumental part of the Crisis Team. A school counselor plans,

coordinates and implements a systematic crisis response (Erford, 2011, p. 294).

Role of the School Counselor
The Professional School Counselor has many roles in crisis management. Society has

presented many challenges to schools in the past years with more and more children coming

from homes with diverse needs. Erford (2011) states that 20% of all children and adolescents
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have significant emotional impairment that requires treatment, but only 1/5 of these children and

adolescents actually receive treatment for their illness (p.288). Other critical incidents of suicide,

violence, depression, conduct and behavior disorders, Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

(AD/HD), and various mental/health disorders are present in todays schools, making it

necessary for Professional School Counselors to play a large role on a schools Crisis

Management Team.
According to Eford (2011) The American School Counselor Association (ASCA)

National Model of 2005 proposes that the academic, career, and personal/social needs of all

children be addressed through comprehensive school counseling programs that focus on systemic

change, advocacy, leadership, and collaboration (p.289). With this responsibility the

Professional School Counselors role is a proactive one, known as Crisis Intervention, helping

students by providing support and direction that the student(s) cannot provide for him or herself

(p.293).
Collaboration assistance in crisis response is how people interact during the problem-

solving process (Erford, 2011) and school counselors are among the team members who interact

with students, faculty, possibly media, parents and other individuals during and after a crisis

response.
A Professional School Counselors role is many when faced with crisis management,

before, during and post-crisis. The Professional School Counselor must remember the ethical and

legal considerations when responding to a crisis. The Professional School Counselor has an

ethical responsibility to all students and to treat all individuals with dignity and respect by

putting each students best interest first (Erford, 2011). The legal responsibility of the

Professional School Counselor is to follow and abide by state laws and school district policies.

Many areas that Professional School Counselors deal with on a daily basis do not have clear

laws, regulations or policies to guide them (Erford, 2011, p. 89). The Professional School
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counselor must be careful to do what is in the best interest of the client when dealing in these

gray areas.
Crisis Plan Critique
The strengths of the Commonwealth High School Crisis Management Plan and the

Jefferson County Public Schools crisis Management Plan are they are strong in the areas of

Crisis Planning and emphasizing the prevention of a crisis whenever possible. Both plans show

strong evidence of pre-planning and intervention response.

The weaknesses of both plans are that neither plan directly addresses the structuring of

the school day after a crisis and how they will deal with students and staff. Such plans should

include how the next school day will be structured, what information will be given to students,

staff, community members, and what changes, if any, will occur as a result of the crisis.
I would agree with all that was discussed in Crisis Management Planning and Evaluation

Plans. There is a strong need for schools to have a Crisis Management Plan in effect in case of a

crisis. It is vital that schools plan, practice and evaluate the plan and its effectiveness on an

annual basis and/or after a crisis situation. Suggestions that I would give for improving the crisis

response for these or any other school system is to plan by including practice drills on a regular

basis just as they do for a fire drill. This will allow staff and students to be prepared in case a

crisis should appear.

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References

Crisis Intervention. (n.d.). Retrieved from Vista Unified School District:

http://www.vusd.k12.ca.us/Departments/LSS/studentsupp/Pages/CrisisIntervention.aspx#

plan

Crisis Management. (2002). Retrieved from Virginia Department of Education:

www.doe.virginia.gov/support/safety_crisis_management/emergency_crisis_management

/model_plan.pdf

Erford, B. T. (2011). Transforming the School Counseling Profession (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle

River, New Jersey: Pearson.