Foundational Team Training (Multi-Day Training) Overview: This multi-day crisis team training is flexible. It provides a strong mix of administrative and organizational issues plus skills and issues related to meeting human emotional needs in the aftermath of crisis, tragedy and trauma. Much of the direct teaching of content can be taken online, significantly reducing the out-of-building time for participants. Depending on the content chosen and blend of online/on site training chosen, on site time can be from two to five days. The Foundational Team Training agenda and content include: administrative and organizational issues (1/2 day) grief, loss and bereavement (1/2 day) suicide prevention and intervention (one day) trauma -- prevention of PTSD for victims (one day) facilitating Safe Rooms (3/4 day) memory activities (tributes to the deceased) (1/4 day) pragmatics of getting through the day (1/2 day) final session of networking, moving forward (1/2 day) We are flexible with content, so if greater needs lie in other areas, substitutions and changes can be made. Scheduling such a great commitment of time is also flexible. Because some districts do want all of the training to be on site, but don't want counselors and team members out of their buildings for a whole week, we often break the training into two sessions, with perhaps a couple or three weeks in between. The only down side of this is that it doubles the travel costs. Goals: This training provides the opportunity to take your team a giant step upward in terms of skill level, organizational strategy and competence. The content is organized to create buy-in and increased trust between administrators and the team, and to provide the greatest insight possible in a variety of options for collaboration. Intended audience: We look at the team as having several key components. Administrators and department heads attend at least two half-day sessions (usually the first and last mornings), and are encouraged to attend additional segments as well. Those who are more in a care-giving role (counselors, school psychologists, nurses, teachers, and others who will focus on providing emotional support to students, staff and parents) attend all on-site sessions and take all online segments. Districts are encouraged to also include bi-lingual aides, a couple of dependable substitutes, a few clerical staff, perhaps some librarians and others who work with students in all grade levels in the school. These additional people would attend all on-site sessions and take all online segments. For those districts that are ready to have the highest level of capacity, we encourage creating collaborative teams that involve several districts (with all of the participating districts taking the training together as one team). If your state has Education Service Agencies that serve the entire county, they can provide the coordination for the training. For the very highest level of readiness, we suggest that you invite local agencies that provide mental health and support services to youth. These might include children's mental health workers, hospital social workers, juvenile detention program staff and others who would both benefit from the content as well as build a school/agency model of collaboration. Prerequisites: None. Related materials Required: For Team Members: The Crisis Resource Manual or Training Manual Set. For Administrators: The Crisis Resource Manual Recommended: For Team Members: The Safe Room Book and/or The Catastrophic Events Resource Manual For administrators: Media Relations for Schools: Including Crisis Communications