Crisis Plan Critique

Time Management Project

Thomas E. Ferrell, Jr.

Virginia Commonwealth University Ed.D. Cohort July 16, 2009

Dr. Whitney Sherman and Dr. Mary Hermann

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Meadowbrook High School’s Crisis Plan Critique Purpose The purpose of Meadowbrook High School’s Crisis Plan is to outline procedures and guidelines to assure that a coordinated response to natural disaster, fire, accident, violence, threat of violence, serious illness, threat of suicide, and death. As the various schools across Chesterfield County are different and have their own unique circumstances, it is appropriate for administrators of each school to sit down each year and meet with crisis team members to develop this comprehensive plan. This deals with issues that are specific to that school. For issues that are general in nature, such as natural disaster, crisis management will rely on the district and its administrators to follow the district wide plan. When each emergency or crisis is over, the school crisis teams should evaluate responses and actions taken to improve or recalculate measures taken as it would benefit the school. Crisis Team The Meadowbrook High School Crisis Team consists of the following members: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

Mr. Thomas E. Ferrell Jr. Mr. Tyrus T. Lyles Mr. Shawn A. Abel Dr. Colleen Bryant Mrs. Kasaundra Blount-Green Mrs. Joey Richeson Mr. Lawrence Jones Mr. Ernie Williams Benjamin Snyder Nytasha Garland Micah Davis Judy Lee Deborah Jones

Supervisor Asst. Supervisor Evacuation Coordinator Student Accounting Communications Representative Activities Director SRO Head Custodian Team Member Team Member School Counselor School Nurse SPED Coordinator

Each member has a fundamental responsibility as the team meets at the beginning of the school year to discuss the crisis plan and implementation if a crisis was to occur. For example, Mr. Ferrell is the supervisor during any crisis situation. He will head and communicate the plan of action to all the other members of the team. The Evacuation Coordinator and Student Accounting person will coordinate, evacuate, and account for all students and staff. The Communications Representative will make formal announcements to the public as information is released. The other team members are from various departments and the school and will be used as deemed necessary by the crisis team. For any reason that Mr. Ferrell is out of the building and a crisis should occur, Mr. Lyles will head the team and has been trained on how to address crisis situations that may occur.

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Content of Meadowbrook’s Crisis Plan I. Roles During a Crisis a. Roles b. Use c. Flow Chart d. Communicating with the Media II. Crisis Management Teams a. Makeup/roles b. Staging Areas c. Critical Incidents Procedures/Checklist d. Annual Start-Up Procedures e. Crisis Toolbox Essentials f. Procedures for Parents Picking up Students g. Sample crisis letters h. Crisis Drills III. Division wide/School Crisis Procedures a. Medical emergency assistance b. Lockdown Procedures c. Death of Student/Faculty d. Dealing With Suicide e. Communication with family and public f. Sample letters for student death g. Accidents to and from school h. Individual carrying a weapon in school i. Bomb threat/telephone/checklist j. Airplane Crash k. Fire or Explosion l. Chemical Spill m. Gas Leak n. Natural Disaster o. Power Failure IV. Building Level Crisis a. Medical emergency assistance b. Life threatening medical crisis c. Minor accidents at school d. Child abuse reporting e. Sexual Assault f. Medication Overdose g. Poisoning h. Allergic reaction i. Child napping j. Missing student

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V. Prevention a. Early warning signs b. Risk/Threat assessment c. Interview d. Follow-up plan e. Action Plan VI. Post Trauma Procedures a. Post-trauma procedures b. Crisis team’s steps after the traumatic incident c. Services to students d. Crowd control e. Debriefing of teachers, staff, and crisis team members VII. Quick Reference Materials f. Post trauma steps g. Services for students h. How to talk and listen to children i. Elementary and Secondary Crisis Intervention Model j. Maintaining Crowd control k. Helping grieving parents, friends, and returning classmates l. Stages of grief m. Grief issues for young children n. Critical incident stress information sheet o. Common stress symptoms p. Helpful hints for traumatized person q. Supporting a child during a traumatic event Critique of Meadowbrook’s Crisis Management Plan The crisis plan that we use at Meadowbrook High School is one that is detailed and specific to our building. Tyrus Lyles, assistant principal, through training, studying the VDOE crisis manual, and assistance from Tim Mallory, who works closely with schools on crisis plans in Chesterfield put the plan for Meadowbrook together. As you can see from the areas that the Meadowbrook plan addresses, that of the VDOE is broad in scope. The VDOE crisis plan provides guidance on issues that are more global and relevant to every school in the state. I find this plan to be somewhat lengthy. That’s not to say that lengthy is negative; I understand that it is critical for the VDOE crisis plan to be comprehensive as it has to cover all Virginia schools and every situation that a school can potentially face. Despite the length and all that the VDOE crisis plan covers, I find it user friendly for any school administrative team. Overall, when you put the VDOE crisis manual side by side with Meadowbrook’s, we’re lacking stronger details on how to deal with certain

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situations. For example, we don’t have information on terrorism in the Meadowbrook manual and that needs to be addressed. Studio Scenarios Scenario One In the first scenario with the reporter at the school event, I stumbled at the point when the reporter changed the topic. I was disappointed in myself, but I am confident in my ability to speak in front of a camera. What I found to be most difficult was the fact that I know Shawn and could not take him seriously initially. During this exercise, I looked happy because we were celebrating student accomplishments and I made good eye contact with Shawn, but I got stuck when he changed the subject and I started to laugh. Once I got back on track, I finished strong. Scenario Two I had warmed up to Shawn and completely imagined him as being a stranger at this point. During this exercise, he played a disgruntled parent. I had seen a ton of those, so this one was easy. I really looked like I was listening to the parent and I took notes to show that I was paying attention. Shawn attempted to twist my words in order to get what he wanted (a class change for his student), but I redirected him to what I actually meant each time. I showed concern, but I was firm in my decision. I was proud of my body language and the way I handled this situation. Scenario Three I had really warmed up to the assignment by this point. This scenario dealt with a crisis that occurred in the neighborhood that caused us to have to lock the school down with 10 minutes left in the day. Despite the fact that I was sitting down (which I wouldn’t do during this situation), I looked very calm and I was very firm. The only advice that Shawn gave me was to do a more effective job of reassuring a teacher that the actual crisis was taking place outside of the building. Aside from that, he said I did well and I thought I did too. This exercise is one that all administrators should go through. You never know when you are under the impression that you are having a discussion with a reporter and all of a sudden they change the subject. We all deal with disgruntled parents, but despite their feelings we need to show that we care. Finally, a crisis can occur at any point and we need to show that we can take control of the situation. This was one of the most beneficial exercises in any graduate class that I have ever taken.

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