CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) AND SCSBC’S RESPONSE: Find the lastest updates here for students, faculty and staff.
CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) AND SCSBC’S RESPONSE: Find the lastest updates here for students, faculty and staff.
A few years ago, my school experienced a lockdown. One of our teachers was in the bathroom at the time and sheltered there with a couple of students who’d been in the hallway. I imagine this teacher spent much of the lockdown running through scenarios of what might be occurring in her classroom. Once the lockdown was resolved, she learned that one of her students had taken charge in her absence. Based on their recall of a recent drill, the student had reminded classmates to shelter silently, barricaded the door, and taken attendance.
When we debriefed this lockdown as a staff, the consensus was gratified amazement that a student had felt confident enough to step up in this way. In hindsight, I wonder: what would it look like to empower every member of the school community to take up the appropriate role in an emergency with similar confidence. Emergency preparation and response are often seen as the school leader’s responsibility. However, a school is better able to respond to an emergency when each student and staff member is equipped to do so with confidence and care.
The term “Incident Command” commonly describes an emergency response in which designated staff, members of the Emergency Management Team, take on specific roles in a large-scale emergency such as a major earthquake. A recent conversation with a colleague helped to expand my understanding of Incident Command and reflect on a more effective approach. This conversation led to the framework outlined here.
While it may be tempting to limit emergency preparation endeavours to standard emergency drills and the required emergency management teams, this approach may do a disservice to our staff and students. Research shows that both anxiety about potential emergencies and trauma after actual emergencies will decrease when every member of the school community understands what is expected of them, and is empowered to take an appropriate role in emergency response. Our duty of care to students and staff includes opportunities to build resilience in challenging situations.
When we invite each member of our school community to play their part in emergency preparedness, we are inviting them to live into their identity in the body of Christ. As we practice and debrief emergency protocols that help keep us safe, we embody God’s call to care for each other. In this context, schools best protect their community through regular attention to emergency preparation and procedures and educating different members about their roles and responsibilities in crisis situations.1
Among various definitions of the term emergency, the two common denominators are:
Using this definition, it is apparent that both staff and students are engaged in emergency response on a regular basis. A classroom teacher functions as an incident commander whenever they deal with a safety incident in the classroom, in the hallway, on the playground or on a field trip. A student functions as an incident commander every time they intervene to care for a peer with an immediate need or tell another student to get help. Given this reality, each member of our community is best served when they clearly understand the role they can play.
The newly revised MECC Safety and Emergency Management Planning Guide for School Districts and Authorities suggests an “all-hazards approach,” which “enables school…staff to respond effectively…by applying common procedures in a coordinated and confident manner” (p. 18).2 The following Five-Step Emergency Response Framework can support this endeavour by providing a clear process that can be applied to an emergency of any scope.
1. Safety Scan
When encountering an emergency situation, we begin by taking a moment to self-manage and then address immediate safety concerns. Considerations include:
2. Preliminary Assess & Act
Next, we assess the nature of the emergency and initiate the appropriate response, seeking to address both physical and emotional safety. Considerations include:
3. Ongoing Assess & Act
Until the situation is resolved, we address long-term safety and well-being, communicate with different stakeholders, and determine how to resolve the situation. Considerations include:
4. Resolution
We determine what it looks like to resolve the situation, either by resuming school or releasing students to parents or caregivers. Options and considerations include:
5. Follow-Up
Once the situation has been resolved, we debrief with appropriate stakeholders to reflect on the response and determine future actions. Considerations include:
While staff and students typically have different roles in emergency preparation and response, both will benefit from considering what it looks like to respond in a healthy and caring way. Schools are invited to use the Emergency Response Framework to initiate important conversations. The following suggestions are a place to start:
We hope the Emergency Response Framework will help all members of the school community respond to an emergency with confidence, clarity, and care.
Kristie Spyksma
SCSBC Associate Director of Learning / Safe & Caring Schools
The author is grateful to colleague Patrick Lee for the conversations and insights that helped shape this framework.
