I've used the Planning Checklist, done some work on my plan but what
now? How do I get started?
You've already taken the first steps. You are thinking about what you have
and where you need to go. From the Safety Assessment you should have gotten
an idea of what you have and what's not in place. I'd suggest you start by
making a "To Do" list and begin by accomplishing 2 items in the
next week. You also may want to get some input from others, whether that's
local law enforcement, other schools in your area or a School Safety
Consultant. If you have other questions, please feel free to email us and we'll do our best to
help.
How do we know if our plan will work?
The best way to know if your plan will work is to test it. That can be
accomplished in a very non threatening, relaxed
atmosphere by just talking through various scenarios and seeing if your
current plan will take care of the challenges that come up. Another way is to
test various aspects of your plan during regularly scheduled fire drills.
Test your accountability, for instance or your communication systems. Once
you're pretty comfortable that you have a solid plan, you can test by doing a
full scale drill that involves community agencies as well as the school
system. There are some cautions about this however and it must be done with a
great deal of planning and sensitivity to the fact that we are involving
children and people who work with children. The scenario must be chosen very
carefully and should not be a gunman or hostage situation. Other scenarios
will accomplish the learning without traumatizing the school community. If
you are considering this type of event, please look for more information in
the book Conducting Effective Drills and Simulations In School Settings
or contact us for some suggestions. If you have other questions, please feel
free to email us and we'll do our
best to help.
What are the biggest challenges a school would face during a crisis?
The biggest challenges are 1. accounting for
everyone on site - kids and adults, 2. communicating
with all parties - kids, staff-parents-central office-media, etc., 3.
Coordinating with local emergency providers to handle the event and 4.
Dealing with the aftermath. If you have other questions, please feel free to email us and we'll do our best to
help.
What resources are available to help my school do this?
The resources available depend on your location. Many communities have
expertise at the local level through their police and fire department. Many
districts or educational service districts have Safe Schools Coordinators
that are available to assist local schools. Most states have a Safe Schools
Office that can direct you to more information. The internet certainly can be
a valuable resource. Organizations like Schoenfeldt
and Associates may be able to help by providing training, technical
assistance, plan reviews, etc. If you have other questions, please feel free
to email us and we'll do our best
to help.
Ask An Expert --
This form
will allow you to email us with any specific question(s) you may have. Please
keep your questions reasonably short and concise. If you have a question or
situation that requires a longer letter, please email us at our regular
address, yoursafeplace@msn.com.
