Although each emergency planning project is unique, they all proceed through a sequence of three phases described as follows.
All emergency response planning projects commence with a basic assessment to familiarize our consultant with unique characteristics of the school, current emergency response preparations, and the status of existing infrastructure. During this stage, a physical assessment is conducted to assess the school’s emergency communications systems, egress design, refuge options for hazardous events, assembly areas, and additional issues.
Upon completion of the assessment, a report is presented to the school with recommended improvements essential for developing new emergency response plans and procedures.
After essential improvements have been identified and a plan for remedy is underway, our consultant works with the school’s leadership to author a new all-hazard Emergency Response Plan (or improvement of existing plans). Activities undertaken at this stage often include structuring the Emergency Response Team, defining authorities and responsibilities, designing improved processes for emergency communications, designating safety zones (e.g., assembly areas, shelter-in-place rooms, severe weather shelters, etc.) and authoring a system of event-specific emergency procedures for best performance, safety, clarity, and organization.
After all essential procedures are complete and ready for promulgation, our consultant support team designs a press-ready classroom flipchart customized according to the school’s emergency response plan.
In our work as consultants, we have assessed over a hundred emergency response plans developed by schools, districts, insurance companies, and other consultants. Unfortunately, the plans we review frequently suffer from problems including ambiguity, lack of redundancy, the omission of critical protocols and safety measures, and even dangerous procedures that increase the risk of harm and liability if implemented as designed.
The school emergency response plans developed by our consultant team are customized for the unique characteristics of each school and based on decades of experience in managing emergencies and assessment of historical crisis events. Each plan we design is developed with careful attention to effectiveness, safety, and actionability under high-stress conditions. See the video below for a survey of some of the common problems our consultant team encounters in school emergency response plans and our recommendations for improved performance.
Even the best designed plans and facility preparations will fail if school employees are unprepared to take action for their self-preservation and protection of students during emergency events. After the school’s essential policies and procedures are complete and approved, our consultant conducts live training classes to instruct faculty about new improvements in the school’s emergency response plan (e.g., emergency response team structure, communications systems, etc.) and critical protocols for major events such as active shooter situations, bomb threats, and school reunification. In middle schools and high schools, this training also encompasses a discussion about recognizing and reporting threats and behaviors of concern.
In addition to faculty training, a separate tabletop session is conducted to instruct emergency response team members on more complex details of the improved procedures and the role of specific team members.
The following video provides an overview of some of the issues addressed by our consultant team when developing school emergency response plans.
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