| Section 6: What
To Do Responding
to Crisis
Violence can happen at any time, anywhere. Effective and
safe schools are well prepared for any potential crisis or violent act.
Crisis response is an important component of a violence
prevention and response plan. Two components that should be addressed in that plan are:
• Intervening during a crisis
to ensure safety.
• Responding in the aftermath
of tragedy.
In addition to establishing a contingency plan, effective
schools provide adequate preparation for their core violence prevention and response team.
The team not only plans what to do when violence strikes, but it also ensures that staff
and students know how to behave. Students and staff feel secure because there is a
well-conceived plan and everyone understands what to do or whom to ask for instructions.
Principles Underlying Crisis
Response
As with other interventions, crisis intervention planning
is built on a foundation that is safe and responsive to children. Crisis planning should
include:
• Training for teachers and
staff in a range of skills-from dealing with escalating classroom situations to responding
to a serious crisis.
• Reference to district or
state procedures. Many states now have recommended crisis intervention manuals available
to their local education agencies and schools.
• Involvement of community
agencies, including police, fire, and rescue, as well as hospital, health, social welfare,
and mental health services. The faith community, juvenile justice, and related family
support systems also have been successfully included in such team plans.
• Provision for the core team
to meet regularly to identify potentially troubled or violent students and situations that
may be dangerous.
Effective school communities also have made a point to
find out about federal, state, and local resources that are available to help during and
after a crisis, and to secure their support and involvement before a
crisis occurs.
Intervening During a Crisis To
Ensure Safety
Weapons used in or around schools, bomb threats or
explosions, and fights, as well as natural disasters, accidents, and suicides call for
immediate, planned action, and long-term, post-crisis intervention. Planning for such
contingencies reduces chaos and trauma. Thus, the crisis response part of the plan also
must include contingency provisions. Such provisions may include:
• Evacuation procedures and
other procedures to protect students and staff from harm. It is critical that schools
identify safe areas where students and staff should go in a crisis. It also is important
that schools practice having staff and students evacuate the premises in an orderly
manner.
• An effective, fool-proof
communication system. Individuals must have designated roles and responsibilities to
prevent confusion.
• A process for securing
immediate external support from law enforcement officials and other relevant community
agencies.
All provisions and procedures should be monitored and
reviewed regularly by the core team.
Just as staff should understand and practice fire drill
procedures routinely, they should practice responding to the presence of firearms and
other weapons, severe threats of violence, hostage situations, and other acts of terror.
School communities can provide staff and students with such practice in the following
ways:
• Provide inservice training
for all faculty and staff to explain the plan and exactly what to do in a crisis. Where
appropriate, include community police, youth workers, and other community members.
• Produce a written manual or
small pamphlet or flip chart to remind teachers and staff of their duties.
• Practice responding to the
imminent warning signs of violence. Make sure all adults in the building
have an understanding of what they might do to prevent violence (e.g., being observant,
knowing when to get help, and modeling good problem solving, anger management, and/or
conflict resolution skills) and how they can safely support each other.
Responding in the Aftermath of
Crisis
Members of the crisis team should understand natural
stress reactions. They also should be familiar with how different individuals might
respond to death and loss, including developmental considerations, religious beliefs, and
cultural values.
Effective schools ensure a coordinated community response.
Professionals both within the school district and within the greater community should be
involved to assist individuals who are at risk for severe stress reactions.
Schools that have experienced tragedy have included the
following provisions in their response plans:
• Help parents
understand children's reactions to violence. In the aftermath of tragedy,
children may experience unrealistic fears of the future, have difficulty sleeping, become
physically ill, and be easily distracted-to name a few of the common symptoms.
• Help teachers and
other staff deal with their reactions to the crisis. Debriefing and grief
counseling is just as important for adults as it is for students.
"Crisis
Procedure Checklist"
• Help students and
faculty adjust after the crisis. Provide both short-term and long-term mental
health counseling following a crisis.
• Help victims and
family members of victims re-enter the school environment. Often, school friends
need guidance in how to act. The school community should work with students and parents to
design a plan that makes it easier for victims and their classmates to adjust.
• Help students and teachers
address the return of a previously removed student to the school community.
Whether the student is returning from a juvenile detention facility or a mental health
facility, schools need to coordinate with staff from that facility to explore how to make
the transition as uneventful as possible.
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