School safety resources

UCLA School Mental Health Project, Center for Mental Health in Schools
See the circle marked "Responding to a Crisis." A wealth of resources in a wide range of issues addressing barriers to student learning and promoting healthy development. See at least these two:

U.S. Department of Education
Information needed to plan for any emergency, including natural disasters, violent incidents, and terrorist acts for schools and communities. For more information about what families and communities can do to be ready for an emergency, please visit www.ready.gov.

"Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Schools and Communities," is a guide developed by the U.S. Department of Education to provide schools and communities with basic guidelines and useful ideas on how to develop emergency response and crisis management plans. Topics: Mitigation and Prevention, Preparedness, Response, Recovery, 188 pages.

Examples of promising practices in school emergency response

Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax, Va.
"Emergency Preparedness and Support"
Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, Md.
Emergency information

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Mental Health Services

Tips for teachers and families to talk about disasters

Questions to Help Children Talk About a Disaster provides examples of "open-ended" questions to encourage children to talk about their feelings and experiences following a disaster.
When Talking Doesn't Help: Other Ways to Help Children Express Their Feelings Following a Disaster provides ideas for helping children express themselves in ways other than talking to help them through the recovery process following a disaster.
After a Disaster: What Teens Can Do provides information for teens to help understand some of their reactions as well as others, to terrorist events. Suggestions are also provided to help ease the unfamiliar feelings related to the event.
After a Disaster: A Guide for Parents and Teachers explains how preschool age, early childhood, and adolescent children may respond to terrorist events. The link is intended for parents and teachers to be informed, recognize problems, and respond appropriately to the needs of children.

Tips for adults in dealing with disasters

Self-Care Tips for Dealing with Stress covers things to remember when trying to understand disaster events, signs that adults need stress management assistance, and ways to ease stress.
How to Deal With Grief deals with the basics that grief is a normal response or sorrow, emotion and confusion, leaves a person feeling numb, trembling, angry and that grief differs from depression.

January 19, 2009