EMERGENCY PROCEDURES AND “CHECK LIST”
Compiled by James Carter and the Prevention Intervention Center
DEATH OF A STUDENT OR STAFF MEMBER
With the tragic death of a student, the site administrator is confronted immediately with serious problems; verifying what happened; containing the information; protecting the privacy of the family; helping students and staff cope with the death; communicating beyond the school; bringing district and community resources of the community to bear on the problem; dealing with parents; and with a suicide, minimizing the possibility that other students may imitate the behavior and take their own lives.
Having a building crisis team in place can certainly aid in these problems and lighten the administrator’s burden. Before the team can be convened, several tasks should be addressed. The site administrator will be among the first to hear of the death. It is important to instruct anyone else not to talk of the death until it is verified by family or authorities. Calling the police or coroner for verification is appropriate but not the home.
The above cautions are especially critical when the death is reported by someone other that authorities as a suicide. Avoid the use of the word “suicide” until confirmed as such by authorities. Protecting a family who has suffered such a terrible loss is important. Even after confirmation of a suicide, referring to the death as such could be judicious.
The crisis team can be assembled and charged with various tasks after confirmation of the death. Some of these are:
1. Arrange a staff meeting to share facts and prepare teachers to deal with students’ issues. The extent of this preparation is an individual decision and may best be handled by a prepared handout.
2. Prepare a formal statement to be read aloud to students and/or staff. The site administrator is usually the best one to read the statement.
3. After the initial announcement, teachers should plan to conduct the class activities as close to normal as possible. Variation from schedules should be based on individual student or staff needs.
4. Determine if any siblings attend school here or elsewhere and notify appropriate staff and site administrators.
5. Arrange to have someone meet with every class in which the student was enrolled for at least the first day. Be prepared for direct questions by other students, frank discussion and reactions ranging from indifference to uncontrolled grief.
6. Set up a “grief watch” to identify students/staff who are especially troubled by the death. Keep names to share with other team members for validation and follow-up. Anyone who has suffered a previous similar loss or is emotionally fragile could be considered at risk.
7. Make arrangements for participation at the funeral. Some contact with the family would now be appropriate to determine their about the funeral and memorials and to express the school’s condolences.
8. In the case of a suicide, in order to discourage others from possibly copying behavior verbally or in reality, it is critical not to memorialize the student’s death. While it is a tragedy, the student must not become larger in death than he/she was in life.
9. Be certain someone checks all school computer lists so no phone calls, mail, or notices are automatically sent to the student’s home.
10. Designate someone to clear out the student’s desk and/or locker.
11. Decisions regarding upcoming extracurricular events will need to be made. While getting back to a normal routine is our goal, some events may be inappropriate to continue.
12. Setting up a counseling center is almost always appropriate. Teachers and students need to be clearly notified of its location, hours, and how to make referrals.
13. Help staff and students focus on positive memories and their feelings of loss. A person in normal grief can be helped by being asked to identify and talk to others about that which they are concerned. Help the building avoid constant talk about the actual death and blaming that will occur.
14. Meet at the end of the first day to debrief, compare notes and support each other. Whether further meetings are necessary is an individual decision, but never skip this one.
In the event the death is a staff member, most of the above would apply. There are, of course, differences. In general, funeral arrangements will necessitate a larger percentage of staff participation placing a burden on personnel to arrange substitutes. Cancellation of school is a very difficult matter. Secondly, students will wonder who their teacher is going to be and so will staff. Any substitute will need support both to help students and face the inevitable comparisons. Presently, short-term intervention is available for staff in times of crisis. Staff may contact their building principal/site administrator or associate superintendent of management services to arrange for person assistance through the Prevention Intervention Center. There are also many mental health agencies (private and public) through which an employee may seek assistance.
TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Principal, Assistant Principal, and/or Administrative Assistant
· Set school plan in motion
· Contact the Prevention Intervention Center for assistance or advice
· Call Cobb County School District Communications Office
Assistant Principal and/or Administrative Assistant
· Contact parents: get facts, list things parents want and will allow the school to do
· Share information with counselors and support staff
· Initiate a calling tree when appropriate
Counselor(s)
· Notify by personal contact the teachers of the victim and siblings before school or as soon as possible
· Set up and staff a crisis center
· Conduct group and individual sessions on a continual basis during the day (for students and teachers)
· Contact psychologist and social worker
· Conduct follow up group with students from previous session, pallbearers and others, if needed(week of funeral)
· Prepare handout of relevant materials for teachers, if appropriate
· Conduct classroom sessions in each class of victim as day progresses
· Conduct classroom sessions in classes of victim’s siblings if applicable
Psychologist/Social Worker
· Come to school to work with students as needed
Assistant Principal and/or Administrative Assistant
· Contact district personnel
· Contact Guidance Supervisor
· Contact Director of Curriculum and Instruction
Funeral
· Attend – Principal, Counselor, Assistant Principal and/or Administrative Assistant
School Media
· Intercom – moment of silence if appropriate and is what the school has done in the past.
· Newspaper
· Yearbook
Calling Tree
May or may not be used, depending on the situation
PRINCIPAL’S EMERGENCY CHECK LIST
_____ Notified Area Assistant Superintendent
_____ Notified Prevention Intervention – 770-429-5846
_____ Arranged for assistance to help the student’s classroom teacher (as needed)
_____ Designated a space to be used as a “counseling support center” in the building.
_____ Met with building staff.
_____ Instructed staff member to immediately remove the deceased student’s name from the computer automatic phoning systems, mailing list, etc. (including Board of Education).
_____ Instructed a staff member to remove locker/desk contents from deceased students’ locker/desk (Prior to the arrival of students.)
_____ Informed students regarding the death.
_____ Notified Central Administration Office of the incident.
_____ Contacted Director Communications.
_____ Directed staff member to review student’s cumulative folder and notify principals in schools where siblings attend.
_____ Wrote letter to parents of all students regarding the death (optional – see sample)
_____ Informed students/staff regarding funeral arrangements
_____ Held after-school staff meeting when needed
_____ Met with Prevention Intervention Center Team at end of day to review day’s activities, review list of “high-risk” students, and plan for next day’s activities.
_____ Contacted clergy/relatives who will be conducting funeral services (2nd day) and organized staff’s role in funeral arrangements, including visitation.
MEDIA PROCEDURES
General Policies:
No interviews or filming on grounds, except as designated below.
Principal may request presence of Communications Director or designee to be on-site (as needed).
Principal and Communications Director determine and assign a designated spokesperson and notify all staff as to who that person is.
Specific Procedures:
_____ Instruct secretaries/receptionist and other staff to route all incoming media calls to the Communications Director or identified spokesperson.
_____ Principal/designee in consultation with Communications Director and spokesperson set up time and place for media interviews.
_____ Communications Director or designee prepares all necessary news releases.
_____ Communications Director or designee keep records of all media contacts.
CRISIS RESPONSE RESOURCE MANUAL
For School Counselors and Administrators
Developed by Dr. Patti Agatston, Cobb County Schools
Prevention/Intervention Center
All schools are impacted by the realities of death, natural disasters, and even cataclysmic events at some time in their history. The Prevention/Intervention Center staff is always available to assist schools in responding to such crises, however some of the best responses come from schools where the staff have taken time to plan ahead, not only for the physical well-being of their children, but for their emotional well being as well. This manual was developed to assist schools in both planning ahead for a crisis, and responding during a crisis. This manual is not designed to take the place of the crisis response manual developed by the Safety and Security office, but rather to supplement it by providing a consistent framework for responding to the emotional needs of children and faculty at our schools in addition to physical safety issues.
I. Advanced Preparation for Any Event:
There are logistical arrangements that can assist in a smooth response to any kind of crisis. Making these arrangements at the beginning of the school year is invaluable in responding to events throughout the year.
A. Develop a staff phone tree.
Deaths and accidents often occur on weekends or during the evening. Having ready access to a staff phone tree will allow the administrator to contact all of the faculty members prior to returning to school, and give the details of the event and where and when staff should gather in the morning for a briefing on the school’s response plan.
B. Identify a Location and Keep Supplies on Hand for a Care Center.
Care centers are locations where grieving students can come for emotional support. Guidance counselor offices are usually too small for large groups of students. Identifying other potential locations such as group rooms, conference rooms, and empty classrooms ahead of time and making sure that they are stocked (or the counselor’s office is stocked) with plenty of Kleenex and comfortable chairs is important. Paper bags are helpful in case a child hyperventilates. A stack of passes to return to class should be on hand as well. An optional but welcome addition is to have refreshments available for students and counselors. Grief is hard work and takes a lot of energy. Providing refreshments will prevent people from becoming dehydrated or faint. (Note: PTA’s often want to assist in the event of a crisis, and asking them to supply refreshments is a great way to involve them in the healing process.)
C. Prepare a List of the Home Phone Numbers of Support Personnel.
If a death or accident impacts a large percentage of the schools’ population, the guidance counselors will need additional support. Make sure to keep the home phone number of the Coordinator of the Prevention/Intervention Center, as well as any other school or private counselors that you have determined would be willing to help out in the event of a crisis.
II. Responding to Deaths or Accidents Involving Individual Students
A. Designate a Media Contact
Local news stations will often contact a school if a student dies or is seriously injured in an accident. Determine ahead of time who will take such calls. In the event of a large scale disaster, the school district communications specialist will likely handle all media requests, however with small scale events the local principal will usually interface with the media.
B. Confirm and Prepare a Written Statement Regarding the Facts of the Death or Accident.
Prior to giving out any information regarding the circumstances regarding the death of a child or faculty member, make sure the child’s family or the police have verified the cause of death. Releasing inaccurate information can be further traumatic to the family, especially in situations that appear to be a suicide, but later turn out to be accidental. If details are missing or cannot be confirmed, staff should indicate that the cause of death is unclear at this time. The statement can then be read by individual teachers in the classroom, or by counselors that come into the class. Include information on funeral arrangements if it is available and any way students/staff can help the family through donations, etc. Also include information regarding the location of the care centers so that teachers know where to send upset students.
Make sure the front office staff has a copy of the fact sheet, as concerned parents will often flood the front office with phone calls. Having a prepared statement will reduce rumors and ease parental concerns.
C. Hold a Faculty Meeting Prior to The Beginning of the School Day,
And at the End of the Day
During the morning faculty meeting the Principal or designee should again share the information about the death/accident, and pass out information sheets to each teacher. S/He should also introduce any extra counselors or support staff available, and give the location of the care centers. Individual teachers can then share the information with their class first thing in the morning. It is rarely a good idea to announce the death over the loud speaker, as this can cause hysteria and a large exodus from class. If individual teachers are uncomfortable sharing the information, they should be assigned a support person (guidance counselor, PI Center staff member) to come to their class and share the information. In addition, classes expecting to be greatly impacted should have a counselor accompany the teacher. The administration should also recognize that many teachers may be grieving, and make counselors available to the staff as well.
Occasionally the student or faculty member’s death is expected to have little impact outside of their own classes, for example: a self-contained child, a young elementary school child, a new student, or a child or faculty member who has been out for a long time due to illness. In such situations the guidance counselor or support staff may just follow the class schedule of the student and share the details with the impacted classes, rather than have all teachers share the information with their first period class.