Adverse Situations 1

Adverse Situations Benchmark

Anthony Medina
Grand Canyon University: EAD 536
October 25, 2022
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Management and Operational Systems

The decision that must be made in this situation is to decide whether students and

school faculty should remain in school or be sent home because of the high temperatures in the

classroom due to air-conditioning systems not working in the school. As the school principal I

would decide to have an early school dismissal because of the unsafe room temperatures.

Additional information needed to inform my decision as the school principal would be

mandated district policies and procedures as it relates to students and staff safety. If I decided

on an early dismissal I would have to ensure transportation is available for students who

require it. I would have to send an all call message to parents to notify them of the early

dismissal. I would also have to ensure I have the proper amount of staff members to conduct

an early dismissal. I would have to coordinate with cafeteria workers to ensure students receive

lunch or have a prepared packed lunch.

Human, Fiscal, and Technological Resources

As the school principal I would use support staff members to help ensure the safety of

students. I would have support staff continue to do room temperature checks to check if the

room temperatures are rising and check how students and staff are doing. I would have

classroom teachers contact parents so that they are aware of the current situation. I would have

nurses evaluate any students who are not feeling well because of the high temperatures in the

classroom. The classroom temperatures would be responsible for sending any students who

may have any conditions that would become worse in the high heat to the main office so

parents can be notified and they can be picked up. The custodial staff would be in charge of
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providing classrooms with fans to help cool down the classrooms. The district maintenance

workers will be in charge of continuing to repair air-conditioning system.

Safety and Welfare of Students and Staff

My school district policy is that every school must have a school safety team and safety

plan. The plan should include the four phases of emergency management. “ The four phases of

emergency management are 1) prevention and mitigation, 2) preparedness and planning, 3)

response, and 4) recovery (Dolph 2016).The school safety team must have a meeting every

marking period to discuss school safety and ways that it can be improved. The district policy is

also that each school must have a safety plan. The safety plan must consist of mandated

emergency situation drills that must be conducted monthly. “By practicing the school safety

plan together, onsite school administrators and emergency responders learn the strengths and

weaknesses of the plan and are, thus, able to make adjustments to the plan” (Simonds 2008). A

court ruling that relates to the safety and welfare of students and staff is The United States

versus City School District of New Rochelle. In this case the school failed to evacuate two

students who needed accommodations to exit the building during a school wide evacuation

drill. It is important when creating a safety plan to consider all students and staff especially

those who will need accommodations such as exiting and entering the school building.

Collaboration with Faculty and Community

Stakeholders that will be involved in this situation would first be the students. Students

will be affected by the recommended solution in this situation so all decisions must be made

with student safety as the top priority. School faculty members will also be stakeholders in this

situation as they are in the school dealing with the high temperatures. Parents are stakeholders
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that will be affected by the solution and they should be constantly notified as decisions are

being made. School administrators are stakeholders that will be involved in the decision

making as they work on providing a solution that will provide a safe school environment for

students and staff members. The district superintendent is another stakeholders that should also

be involved in the decision making to help collaborate with school administrators to provide

the best solution.

Solution and Rationale

My solution in this case is to send students and school faculty members home early. I

believe this is the best solution that will keep students and staff members safe. Sending

students and staff members home early helps to avoid any potential health emergencies

because of the high heat in the classroom. As the school principal it is my responsibility to

make decisions that will keep student and staff safe and avoid legal action that could result

from keeping students and staff in an unsafe learning environment. I would first begin by

collaborating with other school administrators and the district superintendent to make the

decision to have an early dismissal for students and staff. Once the decision has been made I

will begin to have teachers contact parents to notify them of the current situation and early

dismissal. I will at the same time contact transportation services to ensure students who require

transportation will be picked up. I will work with cafeteria workers to ensure students are

prepared a lunch before they go home. I will then have maintenance workers continue to work

on repairing the air-conditioning units and send an all call to parents when the air-conditioning

units have been repaired and thank them for their cooperation in this matter.
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Reference:
Simonds, T. A. (2008). School safety drills as a means to improve school safety plans. School and
Workplace Violence, 1.

Dolph, D. A. (2016). School Crisis Plans: Are You Prepared?. School Business Affairs, 82(11).