Crises in Schools

 Increase knowledge of planning and preparing for school crises  Increase ability of schools to create and implement crisis plans Goal of the Training

Crisis Intervention Team  Dr. Cathy J. Malatt Psy.D. – Crisis Manager  Alejandra Argerich - Crisis Specialist  Cammie Mcdanial – Crisis Specialist  Dr. Reginald Patterson – Crisis Specialist  Megan Watkins – Crisis Specialist  Dr. Dan Zoller – Crisis Specialist

Crisis Intervention - What We DO  Provide consultation to schools via Operation of Crisis Intervention Hotline  Provide in school support after a crisis has taken place via Deployment into school buildings and district level crisis situations  Professional Development with emphasis on Prevention and Preparedness  Coordinate community resources to support schools and families

School C risis Definition  Sudden, unexpected, or unanticipated critical incident that disrupts the school day and may interfere with teaching, learning, attendance and behavior  Implies that the individual’s usual coping mechanisms may not be sufficient to handle a particular situation  Include: “experiencing, witnessing, and/or learning about and event that involves the actual death or physical injury, and or threatened death or physical injury” (APA, 2000, p.463)

School Crises  Crises can:  Cause schools chaos and disruption  Trigger emotional and psychological problems  Involve serious physical risks to all stakeholders

Crisis Planning

Crisis Plan Purpose Purpose of Crisis Intervention  Restore the individuals involved to pre-crisis levels of functioning by:  Assuring that tragic events or occurrences are not ignored  Assisting students, faculty, parents and other school staff in dealing with emotional responses  Decreasing the proliferation of rumors through the sharing of facts  Securing and coordinating the services of community agencies as needed

Crisis Prevention

Chicago Public Schools-Crisis Plans  All hazards approach  Chicago Public Schools EP needs to be completed by October, 1 st  Developed in collaboration with the Chicago Police Department (CPD) in their Facility Information Management System (FIMS)  ELSA (Evacuation, Lock-down, Shelter in place, All clear)  All school personnel and students are to be trained on these Crisis Codes  Step by step guidelines to follow during a crisis  Roles and responsibilities of the crisis team  Tailored to attend to the needs of each school community  Activated by the school crisis team after a crisis incident  Target individuals in need of psychological first aid and support during the crisis  Include follow up of individuals after the crisis COMPREHENSIVE PLAN Emergency Plan (EP) CONDENSED PLAN School Crisis Plan

Crisis Plan Components The School Crisis Team:  Incident Commander, Principal or Designee  Crisis Team Leader  Crisis Specialist  Crisis Counselors (e.g., counselor, social worker, psychologist, school nurse)  Medical Coordinator (School Nurse)  School Security and Local Police  Engineer  Teachers as available and needed

Crisis Plan Components The Crisis Team: Overall Functions  Conduct debriefing meetings to assess the nature of the crisis and to develop a plan to address these needs  Coordinate support of outside agencies and CPS Departments  Target students and staff counseling needs  Reestablish school stability going back to the pre- crisis level  Assign follow-up on high-risk students

Crisis Plan Components Create a Communication Plan  Having a preset plan of communication allows for your school to disseminate key information immediately  Telephone Tree   It helps to provide all stakeholders (staff, students, parents, community, etc) with a unified understanding of the situation and decrease rumors and speculation  Script  How information is going to be provided to parents, staff and community members?  Letters   Phone calls

Exercising and evaluating plans  Crisis plans are living documents that should be reviewed, revised, and practiced regularly  Plans should be in each room of every school building  All stakeholders (including response providers in community) should have copies of the plan, receive an orientation to the plan, and be involved in crisis drills

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (2003) After the Crisis A crisis is an opportunity to re-evaluate the school’s response and adjust services.  Which interventions were the most successful and why?  What were the positive aspects of staff debriefings and why?  What recovery strategies would you change and why?  Do other professionals need to help with future crisis?  What additional training is necessary to enable the school and community to prepare for future crises?  What additional equipment is needed to support recovery efforts?  What other planning actions will facilitate future recovery efforts?

Crisis Intervention - Contacts  Crisis Hotline –  Dr. Cathy Malatt –  Dr. Reginald Patterson –  (cell)

Thank you!