School Crisis Response
The speed of one’s actions is crucial when an accident or an incident happens. It is important to calmly access the situation and follow the guidelines for resolving any given situation and find the quickest possible resolution. The first step in responding to a crisis is calling the emergency services, as they are supposed to arrive as soon as possible (NEO, 2019). After that, one should reassess the current situation and identify the appropriate measures to counteract the crisis; and, at the same time, try to identify potentially dangerous actions which could worsen the situation. To help mitigate the consequences of the event, school-specific management groups responsible for crisis response also need to be contacted (NEO, 2019). Right after notifying the school authorities, an emergency action plan must be formulated, shifting the management duties to suitable individuals and taking the appropriate steps to ensure people’s safety. While executing the plan, one must not forget to gather medical and emergency supplies stored for these types of events, and either hands them out or take them solely, as it is important to avoid their wastage. Right after all the preliminary response steps are taken, one should shift the focus on maintaining internal and external communications (NEO, 2019). Explaining the state of events to those affected must include an accurate summary of the incident and the response to it. Establishing contact with the student’s parents is important as well because an inability to properly relate the information to them can severely hamper the execution of any activities. A script answering the most pressing questions should be formed, to save more time and make the process more efficient (NEO, 2019). External communications regarding the media should be handled last, as they are not the top priority in an emergency situation.
Intervention / Prevention Programs
Other notable aspects of crisis management are intervention and prevention, aimed specifically at combating the issue in its infancy. Oftentimes, an ability to account for and mitigate the possible risks can drastically reduce the chances of a crisis occurring on the school grounds. The main focus of this approach is decreasing and estimating the possible risks that any given facility might face. To do this job in the most effective manner, the skills of various people should be utilized, offering multiple perspectives and quicker assessment. The individuals in various fields of expertise are called upon to interpret the gathered data and find the most optimal resolutions to the potential scenarios (Kerr, 2019). Once the risks are identified and estimated, the next step is to inform the students and other faculty members of the appropriate actions in case of an emergency. Psychologists should consult the children and find the best way to accommodate their needs into the structure of the crisis response (Kerr, 2019). To better prepare, the staff and students, drills, and training sessions are aimed at testing people’s ability to remain calm and follow instructions in the face of unforeseen events (Kerr, 2019). The regularity and consistency of such checks are crucial, as knowledge often fades over time, moreover, to be prepared for extreme situations it is important to reach and maintain the automatism. By addressing the problems of varying severity timely before they can pose a serious risk to people, pre-crisis work can effectively exclude the possibility of an incident occurring.
References
Kerr, M. M. (2019). School crisis prevention and intervention. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. Web.
National Education Organization (NEO). (2018) NEA school crisis guide. Web.