Disaster preparedness/crisis response
A comprehensive safe school plan includes the specific roles and responsibilities of personnel and strategies to respond to any kind of crisis or emergency. Crisis response and disaster preparedness plans helps teachers to know:
- Where to store and retrieve class lists
- How to respond to different types of alerts (lockdown, shelter in place, evacuate, etc.)
- How to alert parents
- Where to take students during an evacuation
- Where emergency supplies are stored in case of extended lockdowns or isolation from the community
- How to respond to types of medical emergencies that occur during a disaster
The California Department of Education Web site contains a Crisis Response page that includes helpful resources to assist school districts with the ongoing mental health aspects of crisis planning and response.
For local information, contact the school district or county office of education coordinator for crisis response. Community counseling and student support specialists (school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, and school nurses) and local mental health specialists can assist schools in helping individual students and staff members cope with the emotional reactions to a crisis.
Related Links
- Be Prepared California (Outside Source), California Department of Public Health.
- Crisis Preparedness, California Department of Education.
- Crisis Response, California Department of Education.
- Guide and Checklist for Nonstructural Earthquake Hazards in California Schools (PDF; Outside Source), A Project of Governor's Office of Emergency Services, Department of General Services—Division of the State Architect, Seismic Safety Commission, Department of Education.
- Prepare Your School and Students, (Outside Source), American Red Cross.
- Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools, (Outside Source) (also available in Spanish (Outside Source), Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice.
- How You Should Prepare Schools, (Outside Source), Governor's Office of Emergency Services.
- Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Schools and Communities (PDF; Outside Source). U.S. Department of Education: Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, May 2003.
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