Catastrophic Events Resource Manual Price: $55.00 Quantity: View Order Training calendar Schedule a Training Download PDF order form This cutting edge guide prepares school districts for a variety of catastrophic events, from school shootings to the rupture of a gas main or toxic industrial spill. Organized for immediate use when a crisis is unfolding on school grounds during the school day, a major portion of the manual is the "how to prepare" component. It includes a section on media relations for dealing with the influx of satellite dish trucks from national media, including guidelines for press conferences and press releases. Collaboration between schools and emergency services, law enforcement, city and county agencies is essential for a smooth response to these major episodes. Making the effort to put all of the guidelines from this manual together ahead of time will save precious seconds at critical moments and enhance every response your district mobilizes. The Catastrophic Events Resource Manual breaks these overwhelming events into four categories: Phase I This is focused on what is happening at the "hot spot." Phase I deals with CPR, availability of first aid supplies, keys for access into any room or building, the means to put identification on people being transported by ambulances and much, much more. Check out our Grab & Go Duffels Phase II While some staff are working at the scene of the incident, the remainder may be following administrative directive to go into external and/or internal lock-down mode, or evacuation, or to continue with the day as planned (with an incident such as the death of a teacher in one isolated area of the school - no one's life is in danger). Phase I and II are occurring simultaneously. This phase activates the installation of extra trunk-hunting lines, staffed with volunteers who have already been trained in how to field calls from hysterical parents, people who wish to help and, of course, the media. This hot line may remain active for a week or more. (Laura - here a link to the Grab and Go Briefcase) Phase III At some point in many of the events that occur on campus, the student population is either dismissed or evacuated. The moment the school does not have students on campus, Phase III begins. This is the brief period of time between the emptying of the campus and the return of students for the next school day, however long that might be. This time is all about communications, planning for debriefings of traumatized students and staff, visitations to families of victims and organizing hundreds of details that must occur in order for the re-opening of school to feel safe and be welcoming for students. If students are not returning to school the very next day, Phase III may include having a time when, after the scene is cleaned and repaired, students may have visitation with the support of family members and without media reporters present. In many of these events, it would destabilize the entire district too much to depend on only its own crisis response team, so it is during this period that incoming counselors are trained on specific dimensions of trauma, and their credentials and backgrounds are checked. Phase IV This phase begins the moment that students walk back into the school for "a regular school day." This does not mean that classes are being held in the regular fashion, but that students are in the building for their first "whole" day of attending classes. This phase looks at a variety of supports: for specific rooms (like the room where the victims would have been in class) for the classes the perpetrator would have attended for groups that will have special needs if victims or perpetrators belong to teams or special activities some of the best friends of victims or perpetrators students already at risk likely triggers and for whom these will be a challenge anniversary challenges graduations of the class of students who died in the event and the sometimes very length recovery period requiring ongoing follow-up and assessment of student and staff needs. The Chapters in the Catastrophic Events Resource Manual include: Response Efforts of the Four Phases What one needs during the responses are always at the front of our manuals so you don't have to look for that list when you're dealing with a crisis. Planning for Each of the Phases This takes each phase and each item in Chapter One and gives planning ideas and concrete examples of what to have in place. Forms, Flyers and Letters This chapter gives templates for faxes and releases to news media, handouts for parents, guidelines for returning student belongings that were at the scene and held for investigative purposes, agendas for a variety of meetings, communications guidelines, collaboration with a myriad of outside agencies and groups, dealing with "incoming" counselors and much more. Media Relations This is the most complete chapter on media relations in any of the manuals by Cheri Lovre. It includes templates and guidelines for being on camera and managing reporters' questions and includes both low-profile events (the death of a single student in a car wreck) and high visibility events (such as a school shooting or hostage situation). Background Information There are a variety of elements in this chapter, including a log for responding to one specific school shooting, the 911 dispatch log for that event, timeliness over the first week or so, communication and collaboration guidelines and considerations for upgrading your plan. Training Although we work hard to have the perfect plan, no two crises unfold in a predicable pattern, so training becomes crucial. We don't teach navigation in the eye of the storm, and what you have in place only tells you what to do. Training gives the opportunity to learn how to do it! This chapter suggests some of the elements that need to be included in order for a team to function well in the height of major events. The Catastrophic Events Resource Manual is comprehensive, yet flexible enough that it is easily adapted for events as diverse as a hostage-taking, natural disasters, a bus accident in front of the school, a chemical spill or a shooting. The concepts in this manual build upon the foundation created by implementing the Crisis Resource Manual.