Every charter school should have a disaster plan. As emergencies and disasters can happen at any time, your school must know what to do in advance.
For example, how will you get to a safe place? How will you contact one another? How and where will you reunite?
The U.S. Department of Education has put together a fantastic resource guide to help schools prepare for and understand how to respond to various situations.
The following links are taken directly from the U.S. Department of Education Safety Page (We recommend that you check their page frequently for updates. This page should only be considered updated as of the date it is published.)
U.S. Department of Education Safety Page: http://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/emergencyplan/index.html
his page provides information that can help school leaders plan for any emergency, including natural disasters, violent incidents, and terrorist acts. For more information about what families and communities can do to be ready for an emergency, please visit www.ready.gov.
- Campus Violence Report
In response to the Virginia Tech incident on April 16, 2007, this Report looks at the scope of violence at higher education institutions. (April 2010) - Action Guide for Emergency Management at Institutions of Higher Education
This Action Guide, revised in 2010, offers higher education institutions a helpful resource in emergency management. - Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Peanut Butter and Peanut Products — Sources of the outbreak of illnesses caused by Salmonella Typhimurium have been confirmed to be peanut butter and peanut paste produced by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) at its Blakely, Georgia, processing plant. (January 2009)
- Hurricane Information — Be ready, get help, find family, donate and volunteer, learn what the government is doing, etc. (September 2008)
- Tips for Helping Students Recovering from Traumatic Events — Practical information for parents, students, teachers, and others coping with the aftermath of a natural disaster. (September 2005)
- Family Educational Rights and Privacy — Proposed Rule (March 24, 2008)
- Beef Recall Information — Learn about actions taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture due to the ongoing investigation of the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company. (March 6, 2008)
- Federal Disaster Assistance — DisasterAssistance.gov consolidates information about federally funded government assistance to disaster victims in one place. (December 31, 2008)
Crisis Planning Resources
- Attacks Targeted Violence Affecting Institutions of Higher Education
In response to the tragic shooting at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (“Virginia Tech”) on April 16, 2007, former cabinet Secretaries Michael Leavitt and Margaret Spellings and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales submitted the Report to the President on Issues Raised by the Virginia Tech Tragedy dated June 13, 2007. The Report included a recommendation that the U.S. Secret Service (USS), the U.S. Department of Education (E.D.), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) explore the issue of violence at institutions of higher education (IHEs). Accordingly, ED/USS/FBI initiated a collaborative effort to understand the nature of this violence and identify ways of preventing future attacks that would affect our nation’s colleges and universities. Two hundred seventy-two incidents were identified through a comprehensive search of more than 115,000 results in open-source reporting from 1900 to 2008. The findings are pertinent and far-reaching, and the incidents studied include all forms of targeted violence, ranging from domestic violence to serial killers. The Report is available for viewing at http://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/campus-attacks.pdf in PDF format. - Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools
F.Y. 2008 Grant Award Recipients - Balancing Privacy and Safety
Secretary Spellings announced guidance to help schools balance students’ privacy rights with school safety concerns. - MRSA in Schools
Answers to commonly asked questions about MRSA skin infections in schools (from the U.S. Department of Education). M.S. Word (40 K.B.) - MRSA Skin Infections
Answers to questions about MRSA skin infections (from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). - F.Y. 2007 Awards for Emergency Response and Crisis Management Discretionary Grant Program
MS Word(91 KB) | PDF(55 KB) - Webcasts on Emergency Management for Schools Training
Four webcasts and accompanying materials look at the four phases of emergency management: prevention-mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. The webcasts were filmed at Emergency Management for Schools training meetings provided for school staff and administrators in March 2007. - Webcast on School Emergency Planning
This November 2006 webcast provides parents, educators, school administrators, and local safety personnel with an opportunity to review critical considerations related to school emergency management planning. Learn about how schools can help mitigate, prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from a crisis. - Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Grant Program — Awards and press release
- Practical Information on Crisis Planning — A brochure and complete guide on crisis planning for schools and communities.
- Pandemic Flu Preparedness — Resources to help school leaders plan and prepare for pandemic flu.
- Safe and Drug-Free Schools — Selected resources from the U.S. Department of Education.
- Bomb Threat Assessment Guide
“Bomb Threat Response: An Interactive Planning Tool for Schools” is an interactive CD-ROM that can help schools be prepared to respond to a bomb threat. The CD-ROM, online support, and other information are available at www.threatplan.org. (October 2003) - Campus Public Safety: Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism Protective Measures
The Office for Domestic Preparedness, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has published a series of suggestions to guide and inform public safety planning efforts to prevent, deter or effectively respond to a weapons of mass destruction terrorist attack on college campuses.
April 2003 - The 3 R’s to Dealing with Trauma in Schools: Readiness, Response, and Recovery
This teleconference, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and the Harvard School Public Health, explores issues related to trauma, its impact on children, and implications for schools and school personnel.
Original airdate: April 23, 2002 - American Clearinghouse on Educational Facilities- School and Campus Safety
The ACEF Campus Safety section features news, articles, events, legislation, and tools for researchers and practitioners regarding vulnerability assessments and campus safety. Readers are also directed to the campus safety organizational support links. All articles are searchable by research and practitioner knowledge. - Project SERV: School Emergency Response to Violence
Project SERV provides education-related services to school districts where the learning environment has been disrupted due to a violent or traumatic crisis. Funds may assist schools facing undue financial hardship in providing extraordinary services due to an event that has had a traumatic effect on the learning environment. - Reports and Resources
Publications, listservs, online events, surveys, policy guidance, and technical assistance centers from E.D.’s Safe and Drug-Free Schools Office.
Examples of Promising Practices in School Emergency Response