Introduction

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Introduction OverviewFY06 ERCM Initial
Grantee MeetingDecember 7, 2006, San Antonio, TX

• Bill Modzeleski
• Associate Assistant Deputy Secretary
• U.S. Department of Education
• Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and
Drug-Free Schools 400 Maryland Avenue, SW / Washi
ngton, DC 20202
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Opening Session Agenda

• ERCM Initial Grantee Meeting agenda
• Summary of ERCM grant recipients
• Context for creating a safe school environment
• Overview of emergency management for schools and
  frequently asked questions
  
• Introduction to the four phases of emergency
  management
  
• Available resources

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Agenda December 7, 2006

• 800 a.m. - 830 a.m. Welcome, Overview,
  Introductions of Presenters
  
• 830 a.m. - 1045 a.m. Grant Administration
• 1045 a.m. - 1100 a.m. Break and Transition
  to Concurrent Session I
  
• 1100 a.m. - 1230 a.m. Concurrent Session I
• Prevention Mitigation (Red Track / Green
  Track)
  
•   Preparedness, Part I (Blue Track)
• 1230 p.m. - 200 p.m. Lunch Plenary - Repeat
  ERCM Grantee Panel
  
• 200 p.m. - 215 p.m. Break and Transition to
  Concurrent Session II
  
• 215 p.m. - 300 p.m. Concurrent Session II
• GPRA Indicators Performance Reports
  (Red Track / Green Track)
  
•   Preparedness, Part II (Blue Track)
• 300 p.m. - 330 p.m. Dessert Break Transition
  to Plenary
  

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Agenda December 8, 2006

• 730 a.m. - 800 a.m. Continental Breakfast
• 800 a.m. - 810 a.m. Recap of Day 1 and
  Overview of Day 2
  
• 810 a.m. - 850 a.m. Lessons Learned from
  Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
  
• A Perspective from Mobile County Schools in
  Alabama
  
• 850 a.m. - 900 a.m. Break and Transition to
  Concurrent Session III
  
• 900 a.m. - 1015 a.m. Concurrent Session III
• Preparedness, Part I (Red Green Tracks)
•   Prevention Mitigation (Blue Track)
• 1015 a.m. - 1030 a.m. Break and Transition to
  Concurrent Session IV
  
• 1030 a.m. - 1115 a.m. Concurrent Session IV
• Preparedness, Part II (Red Green Tracks)
•   GPRA Indicators Performance Reports (Blue
  Track)
  

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Agenda December 8, 2006 (continued)

• 1245 p.m. - 200 p.m. Concurrent Session V
• Response (Red Green Tracks)
•   Recovery (Blue Track)
• 200 p.m. - 215 p.m. Dessert Break Transition
  to Concurrent Session VI
  
• 215 p.m. - 330 p.m. Concurrent Session VI
• Recovery (Red Green Tracks)
• Response (Blue Track)
• 330 p.m. - 340 p.m. Transition to Question
  Answer and Wrap-Up
  
• 340 p.m. - 400 p.m. Question Answer and
  Wrap-Up
  
• 400 p.m. Adjourn

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ERCM Grant Summary
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Historical Overview

• April 1999
• December 2001
• September 2001
• May 2003
• September 2003
• September 2004

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Historical Overview

• "An application submitted by a Local Education
  Agency shall contain an assurance that the
  applicant has, or the schools to be served have a
  plan for keeping schools safe and drug-free that
  includes "a crisis management plan for
  responding to violent or traumatic incidents on
  school grounds Sec. 4114(d)(7)(D)"

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• Why should a school have an emergency management
  plan?

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Why Have a Plan?

• 51,000 students hurt on school buses 2001-03
• 4 million children and adolescents injured at
  school
  
• 36,000 chemical exposures in schools 2003
• 200,000 playground injuries
• 4.2 million youth have asthma attacks some in
  schools
  
• 738,700 incidents of violent crime in school
  2003
  
• 154,200 incidents of serious violent crime
  2003
  
• 21 students homicide victims in school 04-05

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Figure 1. Number and rate of school-associated
homicides among youth ages 5-18 1992-2005
The most recent data from CDC's School-Associated
Violent Death Study (SAVD) are shown in Figure 1.
These data are considered preliminary until
interviews with law enforcement and School
officials are complete. Although the number of
homicides to youth ages 5-18 has increased from a
low of 11 in 2000/2001 to 21 in 2004/2005, this
increase is not statistically significant.
Overall, the number of school-associated of youth
ages 5-18 has declined since the beginning of the
study. Nonetheless, the persistence of the
problem and the pattern observed in recent years
underscores the ongoing need for comprehensive
prevention strategies.
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Why Have a Plan?

• Trains / trucks carrying dangerous chemicals
  crash near schools.
  
• Natural disasters occur on regular basis.
• Criminal incidents in community can impact
  school, e.g., police chase of offenders.
  
• Plants/factories making chemicals have
  accidents.
  
• Students commit suicide outside school on a
  regular basis.
  
• Students on trips get into accidents.

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Why Have a Plan?

• Basic Statistics
• There is ample opportunity for incidents of all
  sorts to occur.
  

• 53 million students X 180 school days
• about 9.5 billion student school days

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Why Have a Plan?

• Emergencies of all shapes and sizes occur in
  schools daily
  
• Emergencies or crises have significant impact on
  students, faculty, parents, and community
  
• Physical
• Emotional
• Educational
• Effective planning will reduce the level of chaos
  that occurs during an emergency and will enable
  schools to return to normalcy quicker.

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Why Have a Plan?

• Stuff Happens
• and we better be prepared to deal with it!

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• Don't most schools and school districts already
  have emergency management plans?

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Current Status of School Emergency Management
Plans

• Most schools and school districts have emergency
  management plans however, the plans are not
  always
  
• Comprehensive,
• Practiced regularly,
• Coordinated with the community,
• Always discussed with families, staff, and
  students,
  
• Based upon sound factual data and circumstances,
  
  
• Regularly, updated, or
• Used!

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• What should be included in an emergency
  management plan, that is what are the key
  elements?

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Key Elements of School Emergency Management Plans

• Goal is for all school districts and schools to
  have emergency management plans that
  
• Address all four phases of emergency management
• Take an "all hazards" approach
• Are developed collaboratively with community
  partners
  
• Are based upon sound data and information
• Are practiced on a regular basis
• Are continually reviewed and updated
• Are living documents
• Include command structure
• Are tailored to conditions of individual schools

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All-Hazards Approach
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All-Hazards Approach

• Natural - Earthquakes, tornados, floods
• Technological - Power outages, nearby nuclear
  plant
  
• Infrastructure - Roads and bridges, utilities
• Nonstructural - Portable room dividers,
  bookshelves, suspended ceilings and light
  fixtures
  
• Man-made - Hazardous materials release,
  terrorism
  
• Biological - Pandemic flu, contaminated food
• Physical wellbeing - broken bones, suicide
• Student culture and climate - bullying, drugs,
  violent behavior

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• Should school districts develop one emergency
  management plan for the entire district?

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District-Wide Plan?

• Plans have to be tailored to needs of individual
  schools
  
• Districts should develop overall policy
• Districts should develop a plan for district
  headquarters

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• Are there differences between an emergency
  management plan developed for an urban area, than
  one for a rural area?

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Urban vs. Rural?

• The plans need to contain the same key elements
• The implementation of the plan will usually be
  different - quite different

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• Who should be involved in planning the emergency
  management plan?
  
• The "old" way versus the "new" way.

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Who Should be Involved?
Public Health
Local Government
School District (including teachers, staff,
parents, students)
Mental Health
Law Enforcement
Public Safety
Emergency Management
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• What role should students and parents have in
  designing the plan?
  
• What information regarding the plan should be
  shared with parents, or students?

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Involving Parents

• What role should parents have in designing the
  plan?
  
• Parents can provide input on various aspects of
  emergency management (e.g., information on where
  crime is likely to occur)
  
• Parents can offer feedback on what works and what
  doesn't (e.g., are drills working, is the method
  for reporting crime effective?)
  
• What information should be shared with parents?
• School districts should share information which
  parents need to have to effectively perform
  everything required of them in the emergency plan
  
• REMEMBER! Students and parents are our
  customers! 
  

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• Do we need to conduct a safety and security
  needs assessment, if so, who should conduct it,
  and what should it cover?

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Safety and Security Needs Assessment?

• Factors to Consider
• Select tool that fits one's needs and is based on
  "some" science/ research
  
• Ensure that recommendations are practical
• Set priorities and sequencing
• Ensure it's conducted by reliable person or
  organization
  
• Do in collaboration with other organizations and
  school board
  
• NOTE May need to supplement with other data,
  surveys and information

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• All this seems costly, is it? Are there things
  we can do with little or no additional funds? If
  so, what?

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Actions for Little or No Extra Dollars?

• Monitor access and egress to buildings
• Know where students are at all times
• Use data being collected to develop plan
• Collaborate with community partners
• Expand drills
• Share school plans with partners
• Use community resources to help identify
  potential problems (e.g., fire and police to
  help conduct assessments health departments to
  provide information on health matters, like
  pandemic influenza)
• Take advantage of related trainings and materials
  and build learning into your planning (e.g.,
  threat assessment)
  

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• Should schools and districts be planning for
  pandemic influenza?

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Planning for Pandemic Influenza?

• Need to plan for it
• Significant number of faculty and students may
  get sick
  
• Schools may have to be shut
• Need to collaborate with State Officials, Health
  Officials, Law Enforcement, etc.
  

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Pandemic Influenza Models

• www.fcps.edu/emergencyplan
• www.mcps.k12md/us/info/emergency/preparedness/
• index.cfm
• www.ed.gov/emergencyplan

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• Are there any "lessons learned" that schools and
  school districts should be aware of?

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Lessons Learned

• Authority for making decisions needs to be
  expanded, see "Murphy's Law"
  
• Staff need to be empowered to make independent
  decisions
  
• Incidents drive movement - strike while the iron
  is hot
  
• Education leaders may not be in control of what
  happens in "their" school - work out who is in
  charge prior to an incident
  

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Lessons Learned

• Redundancy is good, have multiple evacuation
  routes, rally points, etc.
  
• If you place evacuated students in a public
  place, expect them to be questioned by the Press
  
  
• School policies / practices for such matters as
  when to search a student should be followed
  regardless of how well a student is known
  

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Lessons Learned

• Don't forget faculty (in recovery phase)
• Take attendance early in the day, ensure teachers
  have continued access to it
  
• Rumors escalate dramatically - deal with them
  early and don't let them fester
  
• Do what your trained to do, not what you don't
  have skills or capacity to do (e.g., distribute
  food or clothing)
  

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Lessons Learned

• Have a process for entering into contracts
  quickly (e.g., Emergency Contracting Authority)
  
• Prescreen "experts, consultants, outside
  resources" that can be used during / after
  crisis
  
• Agreements with first responders need to be more
  than "paper agreements" - personal relationships
  essential
  
• Physical changes in schools need to be shared
  with first responders
  
• Equipment needs to be tested prior to being
  placed in use, (e.g., interoperability and
  capabilities in all parts of a school)
  

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Lessons Learned

• Question qualifications of all outside persons
  offering assistance paid or volunteer
  
• Know jurisdictions of law enforcement / first
  responder agencies that provide services
  
• Don't Assume Anything

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What are the four phases of emergency management?
Prevention Mitigation
Preparedness
Response
Recovery
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Prevention Mitigation

• Prevention is taking action to decrease the
  likelihood than an emergency will occur
  
• Mitigation is taking action to eliminate or
  reduce the loss of life and property related to
  an event(s) that cannot be prevented
  
• Action steps include
• Know the school building
• Know the community
• Bring together regional, local and school
  leaders
  
• Make regular school safety and security efforts
  part of Prevention Mitigation practices
  
• Establish clear lines of communication
• Conduct a safety and security needs assessment

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Lessons Learned in Prevention Mitigation

• Become acquainted with local first responders,
  community partners and the State emergency
  management agency in advance of an emergency so
  they will be familiar with the schools/school
  staff
• Incorporate lessons learned from previous
  emergencies and drills when updating emergency
  plans

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Preparedness

• Preparedness is developing policies and
  protocols, incident command systems, training,
  planning, coordination and exercises for
  potential emergencies
• Action steps include
• Work with community partners to develop
  appropriate emergency management policies and
  procedures
  
• Clarify roles and responsibilities - establish an
  Incident Command System
  
• Provide training
• Conduct drills and exercises
• Obtain necessary equipment and supplies
• Prepare for immediate response
• Create maps and facilities information
• Develop accountability and student release
  procedures
  
• Address liability issues

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Lessons Learned in Preparedness

• Communications will fail - develop alternative
  communications strategies in advance
  
• Predetermine policies for locating staff/teachers
  following an emergency
  
• Establish systems offsite for storing
  registration information and for conducting
  payroll services

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Response

• Response is taking action to effectively contain
  and resolve the crisis or emergency
  
• Action steps include
• Activate the emergency management plan and the
  Incident Command Team
  
• Utilize effective decision making - assess the
  situation and choose appropriate response
  
• Maintain constant, accurate and appropriate
  communication with staff, students, families and
  media
  
• Triage injuries and provide emergency first aid
  to those who need it
  
• Keep supplies nearby and organized at all times
• Trust leadership
• Activate the student release system
• Allow for flexibility in implementing the
  emergency management plan
  
• Document actions
• Conduct an after-action debriefing

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Lessons Learned in Response

• Identify primary and alternate evacuation sites
  in case the primary sites are not an option
  during an emergency
  
• Move key district resources (for example, buses)
  out of the disaster area
  
• Establish a system for distributing, or disposing
  of, food stored in school facilities if it is a
  large-scale disaster and the buildings will be
  evacuated for extended amounts of time

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Recovery

• The Recovery phase is designed to assist
  students, staff and their families in the healing
  process and to restore educational operations in
  schools
• Action steps include
• Plan for recovery in the preparedness phase
• Assemble the crisis response team
• Return to the "business of learning" as quickly
  as possible
  
• Keep students, families, and the media informed
• Focus on the building, as well as people, during
  recovery
  
• Assess emotional needs of staff, students,
  families, and responders
  
• Conduct daily debriefings
• Remember anniversaries of crises
• Evaluate

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Lessons Learned in Recovery

• Pre-negotiate contracts for transportation, food,
  construction and other district needs
  
• Provide care for the "care-givers" during and
  after crisis events
  
• Implement a system to manage receipt of
  donations
  
• Establish locations for storing and strategies
  for delivering
  
• Determine what donations will be accepted - for
  example, gift cards

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Available Resources

• U.S. Department of Education's Emergency Planning
  Web site
  
• www.ed.gov/emergencyplan
• Emergency Response and Crisis Management
  Technical Assistance (TA) Center
  
• www.ercm.org
• Emergency Management for Schools Webcast
• www.ConnectLive.com/events/edschoolsafety
• Practical Information on Crisis Planning A Guide
  for Schools and Communities
  
• Emergency Management for Schools Training for
  Non-Grantees