The separation of children from parents and guardians during a natural disaster remains a critical issue facing emergency response teams, and schools play a crucial role in the reunification of families. The guide outlines steps being taken at a national level to address this issue and a checklist of planning considerations that school communities should address to get children and their parents back together in the event of an emergency.
This resource center highlights some unique aspects of caring for children during a natural disaster and identifies specific threats, common misconceptions, and strategies for coping that school districts may consider while creating their emergency preparedness plan. The tools and resources provided include educational material, checklists and planners, and recommendations for alleviating stress and anxiety in children caught in a disaster. It also has a special section on anticipating care needs for students with special needs.
https://www.cdc.gov/childrenindisasters/index.html
An evidence-based program, the Virginia Student Threat Assessment Guidelines gives districts a step-by-step method for evaluating the likelihood and severity of potential violence against their community. It also provides safe, structured ways of addressing the threat, once it has been assessed. It emphasizes early attention to bullying and student conflict before those behaviors escalate, paired with a flexible, problem-solving approach.
https://curry.virginia.edu/sites/default/files/images/YVP/VSTAG%20summary%206-18-18.pdf
This publication is intended to give school districts, and cities the critical concepts and components of a proper crisis planning, stimulate thinking about the crisis preparedness process and provide examples of promising practices. Crisis plans need to be customized to communities, districts, and schools to meet the unique needs of residents and students. Crisis plans also need to address state and local school safety plans.
https://rems.ed.gov/docs/PracticalInformationonCrisisPlanning.pdf
NIMS is a comprehensive national approach to incident management applicable across functional disciplines in all jurisdictional levels. NIMS and the National Response Framework, NRM, work complementarily; NIMS provides the template for the management of incidents while NRM offers the structure and mechanism for national-level policy management.
https://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nims/NIMS_brochure.pdf
Recognizing the need for consistent, quality training to address the challenges of rural communities, the United States Congress and the Department of Homeland Security established the RDPC to develop and deliver relevant all-hazard training in support of rural homeland security requirements.
https://www.ruraltraining.org/
The Minnesota Comprehensive School Safety Guide, 2011 edition.
Minnesota has in recent years suffered from natural disasters including fires, tornados, floods that have impacted daily school operations. Unfortunately, the state has also been affected by acts of violence at schools, including shootings, assaults, and suicides.
This guide is one of the best examples of school emergency planning in the nation. The emergency procedures contained therein are practical and yet meet national standards for school safety.