ed620-crisis-management-plan

Crisis Management Plan

Use the Model School Crisis Management Plan (Virginia Department of Education, 2002) and the Sample School Safety Plan Development Templates (Safe Havens International, Inc., 2008) as guides in preparing this plan.

No matter what the crisis (e.g., hurricane, tornado, fire, injury, bomb threat, shootings), the school needs to be prepared to react in a calm, well-organized manner. Knowing how to deal with a crisis will minimize the impact on the school community. Every crisis is unique, but these five items should certainly be a part of any management plan:

• A defined chain of command for notification and decision making
• Communication with parents
• Communication with support agencies
• Building/site security
• Communication with the media

Communication is a key issue and should be scripted in detail, then rehearsed regularly. Simply having a plan does not ensure it will be followed. Everyone involved must know the plan and their role in it. Although faculty may become restless reviewing and rehearsing a crisis response plan, the importance cannot be ignored. If there is a crisis, a skilled faculty response can mean the difference between life and death.

Select a crisis situation you will use for this discussion post. Do the following:

• Select a crisis topic from the list below.
  • A fire in the cafeteria
  • An earthquake or tornado
  • A shooting just outside the school not involving students
  • An outbreak of Hepatitis B has just been discovered in the student body
  • A parent has committed suicide off school grounds.
  • A student has just been seen with a loaded gun on campus
  • An active shooter on campus.

Using the crisis topic you selected, write a basic crisis management plan addressing the five key points below. You may also address additional items you feel are important based on your readings and your experience.

• A defined chain of command for notification and decision making
• Communication with parents
• Communication with support agencies
• Building/site security
• Communication with the media

Support your statements with evidence from the required studies and your research. Cite and reference your sources in APA style.

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References

Safe Havens International, Inc. (2008). Sample school safety plan development templates [PDF]. Retrieved from http://safehavensinternational.org/

Virginia Department of Education Division of Special Education and Student Services. (2002). Model school crisis management plan [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/support/safety_crisis_…