Crises in Schools
Goal of the Training
Increase knowledge of planning and
preparing for school crises
 Increase ability of schools to create and
implement crisis plans
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Crisis Intervention Team
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Dr. Cathy J. Malatt Psy.D. – Crisis Manager
Alejandra Argerich - Crisis Specialist
Cammie Mcdanial – Crisis Specialist
Dr. Reginald Patterson – Crisis Specialist
Megan Watkins – Crisis Specialist
Dr. Dan Zoller – Crisis Specialist
Crisis Intervention - What We DO
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Provide consultation to schools via Operation of
Crisis Intervention Hotline
Provide in school support after a crisis has taken
place via Deployment into school buildings and
district level crisis situations
Professional Development with emphasis on
Prevention and Preparedness
Coordinate community resources to support schools
and families
School Crisis Definition
School Crisis
Definition
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Sudden, unexpected, or unanticipated critical incident
that disrupts the school day and may interfere with
teaching, learning, attendance and behavior
Implies that the individual’s usual coping mechanisms
may not be sufficient to handle a particular situation
Include: “experiencing, witnessing, and/or learning
about and event that involves the actual death or
physical injury, and or threatened death or physical
injury” (APA, 2000, p.463)
School Crises
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Crises can:
 Cause
schools chaos and disruption
 Trigger emotional and psychological problems
 Involve serious physical risks to all stakeholders
Crisis Planning
Crisis Plan Purpose
Purpose of
Crisis
Intervention
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Restore the individuals involved to pre-crisis levels of
functioning by:
 Assuring that tragic events or occurrences are not
ignored
 Assisting students, faculty, parents and other school
staff in dealing with emotional responses
 Decreasing the proliferation of rumors through the
sharing of facts
 Securing and coordinating the services of
community agencies as needed
Crisis Prevention
Prevention is the primary
responsibility of school crisis teams
Physical Safety includes activities that
are focused on the physical structures
of the school environment
Two basic concepts:
1. Natural surveillance (school staff other )
2. Natural access control (school
monitors-cameras)
Psychological Safety includes activities
that are focused on the emotional and
behavioral well-being of students and
staff
1. Programs that Foster Student
Resiliency
2. School-Wide Positive Behavior
Support
Horner, Sugai, Todd, and Lewis-Palmer (2005)
Schneider, Walker, and Sprague (2000)
Chicago Public Schools-Crisis Plans
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COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
CONDENSED PLAN
Emergency Plan (EP)
School Crisis Plan
All hazards approach
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Chicago Public Schools EP needs
to be completed by October, 1st
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Developed in collaboration with
the Chicago Police Department
(CPD) in their Facility Information
Management System (FIMS)
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ELSA (Evacuation, Lock-down,
Shelter in place, All clear)
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All school personnel and students
are to be trained on these Crisis
Codes
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Step by step guidelines to follow
during a crisis
Roles and responsibilities of the
crisis team
Tailored to attend to the needs
of each school community
Activated by the school crisis
team after a crisis incident
Target individuals in need of
psychological first aid and
support during the crisis
Include follow up of individuals
after the crisis
Crisis Plan Components
The School
Crisis Team:
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Incident Commander, Principal or Designee
Crisis Team Leader
Crisis Specialist
Crisis Counselors (e.g., counselor, social
worker, psychologist, school nurse)
Medical Coordinator (School Nurse)
School Security and Local Police
Engineer
Teachers as available and needed
Crisis Plan Components
The Crisis
Team:
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Overall
Functions
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Conduct debriefing meetings to assess the nature of
the crisis and to develop a plan to address these
needs
Coordinate support of outside agencies and CPS
Departments
Target students and staff counseling needs
Reestablish school stability going back to the precrisis level
Assign follow-up on high-risk students
Crisis Plan Components
Create a
Communication
Plan
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Having a preset plan of communication allows for your
school to disseminate key information immediately
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It helps to provide all stakeholders (staff, students, parents,
community, etc) with a unified understanding of the
situation and decrease rumors and speculation
Script
How information is going to be provided to parents,
staff and community members?
 Letters
 Email
 Phone calls
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Telephone Tree
Email
Exercising and evaluating plans
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Crisis plans are living documents that should be reviewed,
revised, and practiced regularly
Plans should be in each room of every school building
All stakeholders (including response providers in community)
should have copies of the plan, receive an orientation to the
plan, and be involved in crisis drills
After the Crisis
A crisis is an
opportunity to
re-evaluate
the school’s
response and
adjust services.
Which interventions were the most successful and why?
 What were the positive aspects of staff debriefings and
why?
 What recovery strategies would you change and why?
 Do other professionals need to help with future crisis?
 What additional training is necessary to enable the
school and community to prepare for future crises?
 What additional equipment is needed to support
recovery efforts?
 What other planning actions will facilitate future
recovery efforts?
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U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (2003)
Crisis Intervention - Contacts
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Crisis Hotline – 773-553-1792
Dr. Cathy Malatt – 773-553-1793
Dr. Reginald Patterson – 773-553-5468
773-294-4177 (cell)
Thank you!