Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction
A crisis can be dealt with routinely in a school. Some crises may be large and other could
be small. One student could be impacted by the crisis or it could be the whole school district. A
school crisis can be defined as an abrupt, unexpected event that has an emotional impact large
enough to overwhelm the usual coping skills of students and/or staff. This, in turn, can cause
significant psychological strain in these individuals as well. According to the U.S. Department of
Education, the occurrence of a school crisis per 1,000 students was lower in elementary schools,
averaging about fifteen incidents a year (NCES). When a crisis occurs, it is the responsibility of
the school to have a plan that ensures preparedness by keeping the school calm and collected.
Implementing this plan guarantees a smoother experience during a school crisis and traumatic
events.
Bailey Cove Elementary School’s task is to assess, plan, and intervene in crises affecting
staff and students. A preplanned, organized approach has been shown to be effective in reducing
the emotional and social impact of a crisis. Bailey Cove will evaluate each situation, while
planning promptly to administer the intervention strategies for everyone within the school. The
general crisis plan that the school will follow consists of verifying what exactly has occurred,
developing plans unique to each situation, supplying support for students/staff, and providing
In the event of a crisis, Bailey Cove’s intervention strategy objectives will be:
● To meet the distinct needs of individual students by working with parents and school
personnel.
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● To communicate with staff, students, parents, and the general public through the most
● To continue effective instruction and carry out established routines, rules, and
regulations.
Responsibilities
a team include the principal, assistant principal, counselor, teachers, school nurse, and school
● To develop prevention, intervention, and postvention procedures at all grade levels in the
school.
● To offer a solid approach to identifying assessing those students at risk of behaviors that
Principal’s Responsibilities:
● Notify the building crisis team leader of what resources are needed.
○ Initiate and keep up contact with the parents of any crisis victim(s).
● The building principal remains in charge until a crisis plan is activated by the
Superintendent.
● When a crisis occurs, get reports from teachers on the wellbeing and location of every
student.
● Organize procedures for reporting status of the students in an emergency or any crisis that
● Give instructions and practice to teachers and school personnel in reporting and assessing
crises.
● Assign person from crises team to examine any reports of students directly related to the
Counselor’s Responsibilities:
● Attend a crisis team meeting concerning the school’s crisis prevention/intervention plan.
● Maintain a list of possible at-risk or distressed students and monitor them closely.
● Monitor hallways:
○ Look out for students who are not where they should be at a given time.
○ Give support, refer to a grief group or counselor, and meet any reasonable needs.
● Monitor phones:
Teacher Responsibilities:
● Report status of school and the students to school admin when needed.
● Answer phones and maintain a call log relative to the school crisis.
● Start emergency communications on the inside such as public address systems and other
● Bus drivers should be included in crisis team meetings and should be able to respond to
● In the event of a crisis, survey damage and stability of the building and report concerns to
the principal.
● Search affected areas of the school for at risk students and school personnel.
Child Abuse/Neglect
It is important to have previously formed bonds with each child to ensure relationship-
building strategies listed below are effective in preventing child abuse/neglect in your school:
● Spend enough time with the students. School-age students will act as if they don’t need
the support of adults around them during this time, but in fact they need both your time
● Show attentiveness in hobbies that your students are excited about. This helps you to
● Be open and present in the conversation. Students want comfort in knowing they can trust
you and in order for them to trust you, they have to know you.
● Learn about the important people in each of the student’s lives. Form connections with
Death
Talking to children about death must be sensitive to their capacity to understand the
situation. In fact, for elementary school aged children, the adult reactions will be important in
shaping their understanding of the situation. The range of reactions may include:
separating from parents or significant others, needing to sleep in the parent’s bed or
● Explosive emotions and acting out behavior that reflect the child’s internal feelings of
● Asking the same questions over and over, not because they do not understand the facts,
Some tips for caregivers who are responsible for or assisting in helping students who
● Give children the opportunity to share their experience and be a good listener.
● Do not assume that every child understands death in the same way or with the
same feelings
● Grieving is an ongoing process and not an event. Although some children will be
activities without giving them the chance to deal with their emotional pain may
● Give the child information at the level that he/she can understand.
● Encourage children to ask questions about loss and death. Treat questions with
respect and a willingness to help the child find his or her own answers.
● Sometimes children are upset but they cannot tell you what will be helpful.
Giving them the time and encouragement to share their feelings with you may
● Children will need long-lasting support. Try to develop multiple supports for
Fire
● Conduct expected and unexpected monthly school fire drills in which everyone
participates.
● Inspect exits regularly to ensure stairways, doors and windows are unblocked and
working properly.
● Train students on how to respond to a fire alarm during a school fire drill.
● Know the locations of the fire protection system, fire alarm pulls stations and sprinklers.
● Pair students with special needs to an adult or classmate for extra assistance.
● Have a predetermined location where students know to meet once they exit the building
● Encourage parents to practice home fire drills and prepare them in the event of a
residential fire.
Natural Disasters
● Practice tornado watch and tornado drills every year and ensure that the protocol for each
● Determine areas of shelter, where faculty, staff, and students can be safe during natural
● Create a specific plan for special education students in order to accommodate their needs
● Ensure that there is an emergency kit on school property that contains essentials, such as
● If possible, provide televisions or radios, so that those taking cover or that have evacuated
School Violence
All schools work to prevent school violence and schools are very safe places. Students,
staff, and parents all have an important role in promoting school safety. Adults can provide
leadership by reassuring students that schools are generally very safe places for children and
youth and reiterating what safety measures and student supports are already in place in their
caring school climate programs, positive interventions and supports, and psychological
● Encourage students to take responsibility for their part in maintaining safe school
● Reiterate the school rules and request that students report potential problems to school
officials.
● Create anonymous reporting systems (e.g., student hot lines, suggestion boxes, and “tell
an adult” systems).
● Control access to the school building (e.g., designated entrance with all other access
● Monitor school parking lots and common areas, such as hallways, cafeterias, and playing
fields.
● Include the presence of school resource officers, security guards, or local police
partnerships.
● Develop crisis plans and provide preparedness training to all staff members.
● Develop threat-assessment and risk-assessment procedures and teams for conducting the
assessments.
● Hold regular school-preparedness drills (e.g., intruder alerts, weather, fire, lockdown,
evacuation).
school property.
● Cite school safety incident data. Many school districts have local data that support a
declining trend in school violence. When possible, citing local data helps families and
● Be a visible, welcoming presence at school, greeting students and parents and visiting
classrooms.
● Conduct an annual review of all school safety policies and procedures to ensure that
emerging school safety issues are adequately covered in current school crisis plans and
● Review communication systems within the school district and with community
responders. This should also address how and where parents will be informed in the event
of an emergency.
● Highlight violence prevention programs and curricula currently being taught in school.
Emphasize the efforts of the school to teach students alternatives to violence including
Shooting/Terrorists Attacks
identify witnesses.
The emergency signal to staff and students should convey the seriousness of the situation.
Establish a command post to handle the load off the Crisis Team and to direct the press
Implement necessary first aid procedures through trained staff, school nurse, nurse’s aide,
physical education department, and/or athletic trainer. Direct rescue personnel to injured
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and give any required assistance. Designate staff member to accompany victim(s) in
ambulance.
Identify a place where a log of events is to be kept. Record all significant events, actions,
Keep staff informed through a memo or emergency staff meeting. Parents may be
Follow-up management should be well-delegated. Crisis counseling for students and staff
may be needed, and security concerns should be considered. All staff will assist in
Substance Use/Abuse
● Identify warning signs for students impacted by opioids, alcohol, and use of other
● Utilize school resources and offer help or referral services to the student if necessary.
● Assist students with learning healthy coping and stress management skills relating to self-
● Talk to students about substance abuse and try to integrate alcohol and drug prevention
skills into everyday curriculum so students can learn how to build self-awareness,
Suicide
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As educators, we encounter and interact with children almost every single day, so anyone
might be the first to notice a change in a student's behavior or how they act overall. Most youth
suicides can be prevented. Any of the school staff members, who are licensed or trained and
aware, can often make the difference between life and death for our students. Research shows
that schools should be urged to take a leadership role in suicide prevention which can help
prevent incidents and save a student’s life. The following strategies listed below are most
effective practices:
● Being familiar with legislation in your state requiring suicide prevention in schools.
● Ensuring that your school has a comprehensive suicide prevention policy that specifies
annual training for all staff on the warning signs of suicidal behavior. Policies should be
developed to ensure that suicidal students are properly supervised and that their parents
● It is strongly recommended that schools post information about warning signs of suicide,
who to contact at schools if you know someone is suicidal, and national crisis hotline
numbers throughout their building, on their website, in handbooks, parents’ letters, etc.
● Providing mental health presentations for parents that include information about
depression and suicide prevention. Help parents understand that if they notice pervasive
behavior changes in their child(ren) that affect their school, home, and social life that
have persisted for two or three weeks, they need to seek professional help for their child.
understand that suicide is not fate, inherited, or destiny, and that the intervention of any
● Creating a suicide prevention task force that involves both school staff and community
● Designating a suicide prevention expert at your school and get them credentialed in
● It is imperative that when school staff know that a student is the victim of bullying that
they do not hesitate to ask them questions about hopelessness and suicide, which are
Terminal Illness
and perhaps behavioral changes as the illness progresses. These changes include loss of hair,
weight loss, irritability, depression, and other manifestations may be observed. Strategies
include:
information about the illness as possible to school personnel, and permission should be
● It is recommended to always share information about the illness with the students at a
time when the affected individual is not in the vicinity, especially if he or she is a peer.
● The discussion should begin by encouraging students to talk about any changes in the
individual they may have observed (e.g., hair loss, weight loss, and skin color).
● Factual information about the illness should be provided, with special emphasis placed on
the idea that the illness cannot be transmitted to others. Younger children may have to be
● The potential for the individual's death should be discussed openly and honestly, allowing
● The discussion should also engage students in discussing proactive strategies for
2. If crisis occurs outside of school hours, such as during the evenings or on the weekend,
the phone tree, a chart that displays the order that calls are to be made, is to be consulted
3. Notify the superintendent of the crisis and the information known at that point in time.
4. Notify the school counselor, school psychologist, and social worker of the crisis.
5. Gather the predetermined crisis response team and delegate tasks to each member.
7. Craft written and verbal statements detailing event, coverage of event, and how school is
presentation that covers the established crisis and media protocol, the information known
at that point in relation to the crisis, what information is to be shared with others, and
offering grief support to faculty and staff members. Communicate the time and location
9. Identify other students, staff, parents, and family members that will be greatly impacted
by the crisis and provide support and outside resources to assist them as needed.
● Support other school staff members with following protocol and skills regarding
● Be a team player— assist by stepping in for faculty and staff that need to be
relieved.
12. Make official statement— see the media guidelines listed below.
13. Prepare for effective address of the concerns of parents and guardians by:
● Placing additional qualified staff and support members at the front office, so that
information known, the resources available to the students and their families, and
● As needed, prepare for and hold a parent question and answer meeting within a
reasonable time window to address their concerns and ensure that all parents are
15. The school counselor, school psychologist, or social worker is to be present in the
Media Guidelines
● Have one specific individual a part of the crisis response team that has been trained to
● Ensure that students are aware of the school’s media policy, and that they know that they
● Consider using social media outlets that have been previously established as
and information.
● Disseminate a prepared written statement, as created per the general crisis procedure, to
● Ensure that parents/guardians of students involved in the crisis have been contacted, and
their approval has been granted for their student’s name(s) and photo(s) to be shared.
Classroom Activity Lesson Plan - The Memory Box: A Book About Grief
Type of counseling activity: Classroom guidance activity that addresses emotional awareness of
Include goals and objectives for the activities: To enhance personal/social development through
emotional processing skills in relation to grief and sadness; To promote healthy coping
Georgia’s career cluster pathway for school guidance core curriculum: As this activity
incorporates storytelling and artistic expression, this activity would be appropriate for the
with death, this lesson would also be applicable to the health science cluster, as those
within this field might be assisting those that are dealing with these issues of grief and
death of a loved one, or be confronted with dealing with these emotions themselves.
● Cognitive domain: At the conclusion of this lesson, the professional school counselor
would ask students to tell him or her the definition of grief or some of the examples of
grief that were given during the classroom discussion. This would give the school
counselor an effective way to evaluate whether the concept of better understanding the
terminology and the emotions surrounding grief, as set forth as a goal of this lesson, were
met.
● Affective domain: As the drawing component of this activity allows for the students’
emotional expression and further exploration and retention of the emotions surrounding
certain memories, the students’ completion of their drawings will be used as evaluation
within this domain. This form of emotional expression aligns with the lessons goals of
coping mechanisms for students to partake in, the behavior of placing mementos into the
memory box of their own would be considered a form of evaluation within this domain,
as this represents a coping mechanism. This could be expanded through keeping the box
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in the classroom or the school counselor’s office and allowing students to bring
1. Hold a class-wide discussion to introduce students to the topics of grief, loss, and sadness
that are represented in the book, The Memory Box: A Book About Grief by Joanna
Rowland. Within this discussion, the school counselor might ask questions about when
students might feel sadness or what sadness means to them, and then provide a definition
of grief to students using the answers that they have provided during this discussion.
2. Read The Memory Box: A Book About Grief by Joanna Rowland to students.
3. As the child within the book is coping with the death of her mother, she makes a memory
box to collect things that remind her of happy memories that she shared with her mother.
Have students create a memento of their own with paper and coloring supplies to place in
a memory box that commemorates a special event or memory that they have with a loved
one. While explaining the activity, the school counselor should reveal the memory box,
students where these memories will be stored, just as they were in the book. The school
counselor might assist students in creating their own memento by offering examples of a
memory to draw, such as a specific holiday, trip, or hobby. In addition, the school
counselor might remind students that this is an activity that they can use whenever they
feel grief, so that they can remember the happy times that they have shared with a person
Format and time frame: The school counselor is to lead the activity, and it should be done within
the classroom with one individual class at a time. This lesson should take approximately
sixty minutes.
Integration suggestion: As this lesson incorporates reading a book and the introduction of the
vocabulary word “grief,” this lesson would fit in to the reading or English language
References used:
Rowland, J. (2017). The Memory Box: A Book About Grief. Minneapolis, MN: Sparkhouse
Family.
/article.jsp?id=3758055.
-Instruction-and-Assessment/CTAE/Pages/CTAE-Georgia-Career-Clusters.aspx.
https://thesecondprinciple.com/instructional-design/threedomainsoflearning/.
Small Group Activity Lesson Plan - The Behavioral and Emotional Response Card Activity
Counseling Activity Type: Small group activity that addresses loss and the changes in behavior
Participants: A small group of elementary school 5th grade students that are experiencing grief.
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Activity Goals and Objectives: To enable the discussion on how students respond to death and
grief; to normalize the emotions and behaviors that may come along with a student’s personal
grieving process.
GA Career Cluster Pathway for School Guidance Core Curriculum: This activity would be
fitting for the Health Science Career Cluster Pathway. The Health Science pathway has an
emphasis on concepts of growth, development, health, wellness, and self-care. The Response
Card lesson will support effective communication skills, which is also essential for this pathway.
The relevance of students expressing their feelings while listening to others in the group, along
with displaying healthy peer interactions will be something that can navigate them to this
pathway.
Evaluation Methods:
● Cognitive Domain: A goal of the lesson is normalizing the feelings that students
encounter while overcoming loss. To assess this, at the end of the activity, the small
group will be asked to construct a short paper responding to the following question:
“What was the most meaningful thing you learned from this activity?” The evaluation
will indicate to the counselor if the goals were met. Most importantly, the students will
● Affective Domain: As the small group becomes more aware of their feelings, the
counselor should emphasize the worth of addressing these emotions and behaviors. An
important thing to do is to show how the students can incorporate the things they’ve
learned here into real life. Before the activity, the counselor will show a short video of
them explaining death, loss, and grief. The video will also include an explanation of what
CRISIS PLAN 24
the activity entails. This will gauge the student’s willingness to participate and potentially
● Psychomotor-Behavioral Domain: The counselor should push for each student in the
small group to communicate the feelings of grief effectively. For this domain, this skill
should be exercised and observed to see if it has been mastered. Another portion of the
end of the activity will see the students doing a guided response exercise where they
practice the skills of starting and normalizing the conversation surrounding grief. In this
brief group discussion, the students should have knowledge on what is required to
successfully express their emotions. This will be a process of imitation and trial and error.
Instructions:
● Pass the cards around and ask the group to put a check mark on any card that describes a
feeling or behavior they have experienced (cards contain emotional response words and
● When all the cards have been passed out, urge group to talk about the cards that stood out
to them.
● Go on to ask the group to read each of the cards in front of them and count the number of
marks and take note of those that fewer participants marked compared to those that were
Format and Time Frame: This activity will be led by a school counselor in their office in small
group meetings with grieving students. The length of the activity should be around 60 minutes
CRISIS PLAN 25
but will depend upon the developmental level and attention span of those participating; along
Integration Suggestion: This counseling activity on grief can be implemented into Elementary
References Used:
Safe Crossings Children's Grief Program. (n.d.). Grief Support Groups in the School Setting.
education/graduatedegrees/schoolcounseling/Grief-Resource.pdf.
https://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/CTAE/Pages/CTAE-
Georgia-Career-Clusters.aspx.
Type of Counseling Activity: Individual activity; promotes emotional stability as they learn how
Goals and Objectives: Students will recognize and reflect on their experiences in learning how to
cope with healthy coping mechanisms. Students will learn and engage in tactics to increase self-
Georgia’s Career Cluster Pathway for School Guidance Core Curriculum: This activity would
be best if placed under the Health Science Cluster. This is extremely relative to the Health
CRISIS PLAN 26
Science Cluster because as stated, it encourages creativity, enhances leadership skills, and
Evaluation methods:
● Cognitive Domain: By the end of this lesson, students should be able to apply skills of
how to cope with healthy coping mechanisms. This should promote less outbreaks in
class, and more self-awareness with how you can go about handling emotions during
crisis.
● Affective Domain: As they are learning how to cope the healthy way, school counselors
are to highlight the importance of why students should stress comprehension of the
tactics needed in order to increase self-awareness and take control of their reactions when
in crisis mode.
and has such a positive influence on student’s focus and self-awareness, it’s important
that students not to use breathing as a healthy coping mechanism, but engage in other
Description of the instructions: School Counseling Core Curriculum is focused around the three
ASCA model encourages school counselors to allocate 35%-45% of their total time spent at
school providing students with school counseling curriculum. Direct instruction assists the
school counselor in identifying students who may need further support in either a small group
CRISIS PLAN 27
setting or through individual student counseling. For this activity, once a month, students will be
Format and time frame: School counselor’s job is to facilitate a time where a student can
incorporate a calm physical activity, such as in the counselor’s office, in their daily weekly that
also helps students become more self-aware and promotes positive mental health. These
activities can include anything that challenges the body to think in a calm manner. Student will
record all activity in personal journals. This lesson should take approximately thirty minutes to
sixty minutes.
Integration Suggestion: In this lesson we discuss the importance of obtaining healthy coping
mechanisms in order to heal effectively and grow respectively. Because this corresponds with the
expansion of our mental health positivity spectrum, this would be best fit under the
References:
https://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/CTAE/Pages/
CTAE-Georgia-Career-Clusters.aspx.
journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1556-6678/issues
Brown, D., & Trusty (2006). The ASCA national model, accountability, and establishing causal
links between school counselors ‘activities and student outcomes: A reply to sink.
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http://www.schoolcounselor.org/content.asp?contentid=235
Conclusion
Bailey Cove Elementary School strives to holistically support our school in the event of
important that these guidelines are referred to and followed in order to provide a united,
appropriate response team. Through following these general interventions and procedures, we
hope to serve our students, faculty, staff, and community to the best of our abilities in
appropriately addressing their concerns and facilitating their recovery and wellness process.
CRISIS PLAN 29
References
Brock, S.E., Nickerson, A.B., Reeves, M.A., Jimerson, S.R., Lieberman, R.A., & Feinberg, T.A.
Brown, D., & Trusty (2006). The ASCA national model, accountability, and establishing
causal links between school counselors ‘activities and student outcomes: A reply
http://www.schoolcounselor.org/content.asp?contentid=235
-Instruction-and-Assessment/CTAE/Pages/CTAE-Georgia-Career-Clusters.aspx
Carter, James. Emergency Procedures and “Check List.” Retrieved on November 3rd, 2019 from
http://www.cobbk12.org/preventionintervention/forms/EMERGENCY
%20PROCEDURES%20AND%20CHECK%20LIST%20AND%20GUIDELINES.docx
Cowan, K., and Paine, C., (2015). School safety: What really works. Principal Leadership, 13(7),
March_13_School_Safety
© 2015, National Association of School Psychologists, 4340 East West Highway, Suite 402,
Diliberti, M., Jackson, M., and Kemp, J. (2017). Crime, Violence, Discipline, and Safety in U.S.
Public Schools: Findings From the School Survey on Crime and Safety: 2015–16 (NCES
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch
/article.jsp?id=3758055.
journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1556-6678/issues
Model School Counselor Crisis Plan. (2002). Retrieved on November 3rd, 2019 from
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/support/safety_crisis_management/emergency_crisis_manag
ement/model_plan.pdf
NEA’s School Crisis Guide. (2018). Retrieved on November 3rd, 2019 from
http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/NEA%20School%20Crisis%20Guide%202018.pdf
Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Schools and Communities. (2007).
PracticalInformationonCrisisPlanning.pdf
Rowland, J. (2017). The Memory Box: A Book About Grief. Minneapolis, MN: Sparkhouse
Family.
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Safe Crossings Children's Grief Program. (n.d.). Grief Support Groups in the School Setting.
college-of-education/graduatedegrees/schoolcounseling/Grief-Resource.pdf.
https://thesecondprinciple.com/instructional-design/threedomainsoflearning/.