When parents send their children to school, they do so in good faith that their children will be safe while they are there. Most trust that school officials will have well-thought-out, effective, plans in place for when a crisis occurs.
As part of its School Safety Center, NCPCV will work with schools to develop these best-practice plans so they can quickly and efficiently respond to any crisis that arises on campus.
A crisis can happen at any time and may occur on campus or off campus within the community and have an impact on students and staff.
- Severe weather and natural disasters
- Fire
- Acts of terror
- Disease outbreaks
- Chemical spills
- Threats against overall school safety, such as a bomb threat or active shooter
- Deaths of students or staff
- Preparedness
- Mitigation
- Prevention
- Response
- Recovery
While many components of a Crisis Response Plan can be handled on-site with school administration and staff, NCPCV can also help schools connect with local public safety officials and other community organizations for additional support.
Together, the goal is to create plans that address crisis situations that occur immediately on campus, as well as other incidents that happen within the community that may affect students or staff.
Crisis Response Planning emphasizes the creation and use of school-based crisis teams with clearly determined roles for crisis response. This includes advance preparedness in identifying key stakeholders and team members, communication procedures, plans for what students and staff should do during a crisis, and evaluating equipment or other resources needed for response.
Each successful Crisis Response Plan should also include recovery procedures and NCPCV will work with teams to create strategies and implement these plans.