Introduction & Overview Emergency Management for Schools training February 22, 2007, Philadelphia, PA U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools 400 Maryland Avenue, SW / Washington, DC W. Modzeleski Associate Assistant Deputy Secretary U.S. Department of Education Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools

2 Opening Session Agenda Review Meeting Agenda/ Introduce Staff Goals Why Emergency Management Plans Are Critical What We Want Schools To Do Obstacles to Success Lessons Learned Available Resources

3 Agenda: February 22, :00 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. Welcome and Introduction 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.Concurrent Session I 10:45 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Concurrent Session II 11:30 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. Lunch and Plenary Incorporating Special Needs Considerations into School Emergency Planning 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Concurrent Session III 3:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.Networking Dessert & Transition to Concurrent 4:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Overview of Emergency Response and Crisis Management Discretionary Grant Competition

4 Agenda: February 23, :00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. Recap of Day 1, Questions and Answers 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Concurrent Session V 10:15 a.m. - 11:45 p.m. Concurrent Session VI 11:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Break & Transition to Plenary Session 12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m. Question & Answer, Feedback and Closing

5 Goals Provide attendees with practical, accurate and timely information regarding Emergency Management Planning. Provide attendees with skills necessary to develop or revise their Emergency Management Plans consistent with what is considered as "best practices." Motivate attendees to review and revise their existing Emergency Management Plans to be consistent with "best practices." Demonstrate the linkage between effective Emergency Management Plans and learning.

6 Historical Overview April 1999 December 2001 September 2001 May 2003 September 2003 September 2004

7 Why should a school have an emergency management plan?

8 Stuff Happens! And we either plan to deal with it when it happens and thereby help minimize its consequences, or we let it take control and steer us in directions we may not want to go!

9 Stuff Happens! Along a continuum! Every day! To a variety of different populations (e.g., students/faculty). Includes natural disasters, accidents, intentional injuries, terrorism, illness and behavioral problems like bullying.

10 Why Have a Plan? 51,000 students hurt on school buses ( ) 4 million children and adolescents injured at school 36,000 chemical exposures in schools (2003) 200,000 playground injuries 4.2 million youth have asthma attacks (some in schools) 582,800 incidents of violent crime in school (2004) 107,400 incidents of serious violent crime (2004) 21 students homicide victims in school, and 1,437 in community ( ) 1,285 suicides (age 15-18) in community ( )

11 Figure 1. Number and rate of school-associated homicides among youth ages 5-18: The most recent data from the CDC’s School-Associated Violent Death Study (SAVD) are shown in Figure 1. These data are considered preliminary until interviews with law enforcement and school officials are complete. Although the number of homicides to youth ages 5-18 has increased from a low of 11 in to 21 in 2004/2005, this increase is not statistically significant. Overall, the number of school-associated violent deaths of youth ages 5-18 has declined since the beginning of the study. Nonetheless, the persistence of the problem and the pattern observed in recent years underscores the ongoing need for comprehensive prevention strategies.

12 Why Have a Plan? Basic Statistics: There is ample opportunity for incidents of all sorts to occur. 53 million students X 180 school days = about 9.5 billion student school days

13 What do we want school districts to do?

14 Have an Emergency Management Plan!

15 A School Emergency Management Plan That: Addresses all four phases of emergency management (prevention-mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery) Takes an "all-hazards" approach Developed collaboratively with community partners Based upon sound data and information Practiced on a regular basis Are continually reviewed and updated Include command structure coordinated with the community Tailored to conditions of individual schools

16 What are the four phases of emergency management? Prevention & Mitigation Preparedness ResponseRecovery

17 All-Hazards Approach High Base Rate IncidentsLow Base Rate Incidents Low ImpactHigh Impact BullyingIntruders Minor AccidentsWeapons / Guns Fighting (without injury)Assault with Injury Automobile Related IssuesHomicides Drug PossessionChemical Accidents

18 Who Should be Involved? School District (including teachers, staff, parents, students) Public Health Law Enforcement Public Safety Emergency Management Local Government Mental Health

19 Is it going to be easy?

20 Obstacles to Success Lack of: Money Time Expertise Coordination & Collaboration Leadership

21 Actions for Little or No Extra Dollars? Monitor access and egress to buildings Know where students are at all times Use data being collected to develop plan Collaborate with community partners Expand drills Share school plans with partners Use community resources to help identify potential problems (e.g., work with fire and police to help conduct assessments; collaborate with health departments to provide information on health matters, like pandemic influenza) Take advantage of related trainings and materials, and build learning into your planning (e.g., threat assessment)

22 Are there any "lessons learned" that schools and school districts should be aware of?

23 Lessons Learned You can never anticipate "every possible event," use data to help drive what you plan and practice for. Combine generalities with specific situations. Ensure staff is empowered and trained to make decisions. Build in redundancy, see "Murphy’s Law." Expect that conditions may worsen after an event is over. Don’t forget the faculty! Know the whereabouts of students and staff at all times.

24 Lessons Learned Physical changes in schools need to be shared with first responders. Test and retest equipment: don’t assume anything! Question qualifications of all outside persons offering assistance. Pre-screen all volunteers! Develop a process for entering into contracts quickly. Personal relationships with service providers and first responders are important!

25 Lessons Learned Redundancy is good, have multiple evacuation routes, rally points, etc. If you place evacuated students in a public place, expect them to be questioned by the media. School policies / practices (e.g., student searches) should be followed regardless of how well a student is known. Rumors escalate dramatically - deal with them early and don’t let them fester. Do what you are trained to do, not what you don’t have skills or capacity to do (e.g., distribute food or clothing).

26 Available Resources U.S. Department of Education’s Emergency Planning Web site Emergency Response and Crisis Management Technical Assistance (TA) Center Emergency Management for Schools Webcast Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Schools and Communities Emergency Management for Schools Training