Crisis Management - Suggested Resources

Crisis Communications Guide and Toolkit.
www.nea.org/crisis/
(National Education Association, Washington, DC, 2003) This web-based guide and toolkit were developed to help schools respond to both human and natural disasters. Included are tips, resources, ideas, and examples. The kit is divided into four sections that discuss: 1) being prepared before a crisis, 2) being responsive during a crisis, 3) being diligent in moving beyond crisis, and 4) hands-on assistance tools for educators.

Crisis Response and Violence Prevention Resources.
www.naspcenter.org/safe_schools/safeschools.htm
The National Mental Health and Education Center has compiled links to crisis response and violence prevention resources for parents, educators and communities. These resources are designed to help schools cope with the aftermath of a tragedy and to implement strategies to create a safe learning environment for all students.

Disaster Drills Emphasize Plans To 'Shelter' Pupils at School.
www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=33shelter.h22
Jacobson, Linda Education Week; v22 n33 , p6 ; Apr 30, 2003 Districts around the country—especially those in high-profile metropolitan areas such as Washington—are conducting more safety drills. One drill that is becoming more prevalent is the creation of a "shelter in place," in which school authorities order that students, and anyone else in the building, stay inside and often move to interior rooms without a lot of windows in the event of an emergency.

Kentucky Center for School Safety. Preparing for, Responding to, and Recovering from Attacks.
kysafeschools.org/clear/crisis.html
This webpage provides a variety of resources to help prepare for, respond, and recover from crises, including a school biological/chemical terrorist response plan, tips for principals, and information on helping school children cope with tragedy.

Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Schools and Communities.
www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/emergencyplan/crisisplanning.pdf
(U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, Washington, D.C., 2003) School districts may be touched either directly or indirectly by a crisis of some kind at any time, including natural disasters, school shootings, or acts of terrorism. This guide is intended to give schools, districts, and communities the critical concepts and components of good crisis planning, stimulate thinking about the crisis preparedness process, and provide examples of promising practices. Sections include: 1) Mitigation/Prevention; 2) Preparedness; 3) Response; 4) Recovery; and 5) Resources. Each section contains an action checklist and action steps. 146p.

Recommended Emergency Supplies for Schools.
www.redcross.org/disaster/masters/supply.html
(American Red Cross, Washington, D.C.,, 2003) Information on what emergency supplies to store, how much to budget, how much to store, and where to store supplies. Includes lists of recommended supplies for individual kits, an individual classroom, and for the whole school. Also covers search and rescue equipment. This list was developed from lists created by the California Senate Select Committee on the Northridge Earthquake, Task Force on Education, and updated by the American Red Cross. 4p.

Resources on Emergency Evacuation and Disaster Preparedness for People With Disabilities.
www.access-board.gov/evac.htm
(The Access Board, Washington, D.C. , 2003) This is a list of resources on emergency egress, including design criteria, and on disaster preparedness that address the needs of persons with disabilities.

Talking about Disaster--Providing Safety Information to the Public.
www.fema.gov/rrr/talkdiz/
(Federal Emergency Management Agency, Washington, D.C.; Originally published by the National Disaster Education Coalition, 1999. , Feb 2003) This guide has been developed to assist anyone providing disaster safety information to the public. The messages are intended to be used in educational presentations, displays and bulletin boards, print and electronic media, radio and television, and in any other medium in which disaster safety is communicated to the public. Each message describes a recommended action or behavior.

Safe Schools Resources
2002 School Resource Officer Survey. Final Report on the 2nd Annual National Survey of School-Based Police Officers.
www.nasro.org/2002NASROsurvey.pdf
(National Association of School Resource Officers, Anthony, FL, Sep 25, 2002) Findings from a survey conducted by the National Association of School Resource Officers show the vulnerability of schools. An overwhelming majority of school-based police officers feel that their schools are vulnerable to a terrorist attack, and that the schools are not adequately prepared to respond. Officers reported significant gaps in their school's security, and that school crisis plans are both inadequate and untested. School-based officers report receiving limited training and minimal support from outside agencies in preparing for a terrorist attack upon schools. This report includes detailed findings and graphic illustrations. 47p.

Final Report and Findings of the "Safe School Initiative": Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States.
www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/preventingattacksreport.pdf
Vossekuil, Bryan; Fein, Robert A.; Reddy, Marisa; Borum, Randy; Modzeleski, William (U.S. Department of Education, Washington,D.C., 2002) This publication results from on ongoing collaboration between the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education. Its goals are to determine whether it could have been known that incidents of targeted violence at schools were being planned and whether anything could have been done to prevent them from occurring.

Keys to a Safe, Secure School.
asumag.com/ar/university_keys_safe_secure/index.htm
Kennedy, Mike. American School and University; v74 n5 , p24,26,28 ; Jan 2002 Outlines 10 steps that school administrators can take to make their schools safer and more secure for students and staff. These steps encompass crime prevention through environmental design, crisis planning, entrances, lighting, police presence, prevention programs, rapport with students, smaller schools, technology implementation, and staff training.

National Resource Center for Safe Schools
www.nwrel.org/safe/
Established by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, the resource center works with schools, communities, state and local education agencies, and other concerned individuals to create safe learning environments and prevent school violence. Includes publications, facts and figures, databases, recommended readings, calendar of events, and links to other sites.

Newer Technologies for School Security. ERIC Digest.
eric.uoregon.edu/publications/digests/digest145.html
Schneider, Tod (ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, Eugene, OR., Feb 2001) This digest describes several technologies that can be used to control access to, and improve surveillance of, school grounds. Access can be controlled by using "smart" cards to control keyed entries.

Safe and Secure: Guides to Creating Safer Schools
ojjdp.ncjrs.org/pubs/delinq.html

Safe Schools Facilities Planner. Health and Life Safety, School Climate and Order schoolclearinghouse.org/pubs/safesch.pdf
(North Carolina State Dept. of Public Instruction, Div. of School Support, Raleigh, Feb 1998)

School Safety Audit Protocol.
www.pen.k12.va.us/go/VDOE/Instruction/schoolsafety/safetyaudit.pdf
DeMary, Jo Lynne; Owens, Marsha; Ramnarain, A. K. Vijay (Virginia State Dept. of Education, Richmond. , Jun 2000)

Teachers with a Badge.
asumag.com/ar/university_security_teachers_badge/index.htm
Kennedy, Mike. American School and University; v73 n6 , p36,38 ; Feb 2001 Explores the use of the school resource officer (SRO) as the fastest growing area for preventing school violence and improving the educational environment. The SRO's importance to students is also highlighted as is the combining of the SRO with more technologically centered crime prevention efforts.

Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide to Managing Threatening Situations and to Creating Safe School Climates.
www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/threatassessmentguide.pdf
Fein, Robert A.; Vossekuil, Bryan; Pollack, William S.; Borum,Randy; Modzeleski, William; Reddy, Marisa (U.S. Department of Education; U.S. Secret Service, Washington, DC, May 2002)
Findings indicated that incidents of targeted violence in school were rarely impulsive; that the students who perpetrated attacks usually planned them out in advance with planning behavior that was often observable; and that prior to most attacks, other children knew that the attack was to occur. This document uses these findings to create a process for identifying, assessing, and managing students who may pose a threat of targeted violence in schools.

102 Ways Educational Support Personnel are Keeping the School Environment Healthy and Safe
www.nea.org/esp/resource/102ways.htm

Homeland Security Resources
Homeland Security Advisory System Recommendations for Schools
www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/hsas/schools.pdf
(American Red Cross, Washington, D.C. , 2003) This explains recommended actions schools should take at the various levels of risk of attack, from green (low), blue (guarded), yellow (elevated), orange (high), through red (severe). 1p

Drill Resources
Disaster Drills Emphasize Plans To 'Shelter' Pupils at School.
www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=33shelter.h22
Jacobson, Linda Education Week; v22 n33, p6 ; Apr 30, 2003 Districts around the country—especially those in high-profile metropolitan areas such as Washington—are conducting more safety drills. One drill that is becoming more prevalent is the creation of a "shelter in place," in which school authorities order that students, and anyone else in the building, stay inside and often move to interior rooms without a lot of windows in the event of an emergency.