There are various opportunities this month for school and higher ed safety planning teams and their partners to promote awareness around key safety, security, emergency management, and preparedness topics in the field. May also provides a great opportunity to create emergency operations plans (EOPs) or to review existing portions of the plan to identify areas for improvement. Many schools and institutions of higher education (IHEs) are preparing to end the academic year, and may have experienced emergency events or incidents from which they can draw lessons learned to improve planning. Be inspired to take action this month and throughout the year using the ideas our team has curated below.

• School Nurse Day | May 11 — Learn about the role school nurses have in supporting overall school safety, security, emergency management, and preparedness before, during, and after an emergency via our Webinar in collaboration with the National Association of School Nurses.
• National EMS Week | May 15–21 — Review existing Memoranda of Understanding and Agreements with local emergency medical services (EMS) partners to determine whether they require an update or use this time to create formal agreements with EMS partners.
• National Wildfire Awareness Month — Is your school, school district, or IHE located in an impacted area? Work with community partners to develop a Wildfire Annex as a part of the overall school or campus EOP.
• Mental Health Awareness Month — Learn about a joint effort between the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services focused on ensuring students have access to school-based health services. Invite school-based health center partners as collaborative partners when updating the Public, Medical, and Mental Health Annex.
• National Building Safety Month — Access the recently released White House Toolkit: Federal Resources for Addressing School Infrastructure Needs, which outlines available Federal resources and funding to support school infrastructure needs.

Bookmark the REMS TA Center Calendar to access details on additional awareness activities and emergency preparedness–focused events taking place in May and throughout the year.

The REMS TA Center is pleased to announce three NEW interactive checklists designed to assist education agencies in creating comprehensive, high-quality EOPs and refreshing current EOPs. These downloadable checklists, tailored for schools, school districts, and IHEs, summarize key elements and activities according to Federal emergency management planning guidance. Find detailed and actionable recommendations for each step in the six-step planning process, as well as in the EOP section content and tips for plan review. Find the interactive checklist most relevant to your education agency below:

• K-12 School Planning and Response Teams: Developing and Enhancing the School Emergency Operations Plan
• School District Planning and Response Teams: Developing and Enhancing the School Emergency Operations Plan
• Institution of Higher Education Planning and Response Teams: Developing and Enhancing the Higher ed Emergency Operations Plan

The REMS TA Center has developed a NEW module in the Specialized Training Package on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) for K-12 education agencies. As part of a multidisciplinary approach, CPTED asks what is it about this location that puts students and staff at risk or makes it susceptible to crime? This training provides the foundation to examine the safety, security, accessibility, and emergency preparedness of buildings and grounds, using a low-cost, effective mitigation approach to deter crime, promote positive school culture, create welcoming school spaces, and prevent violence at schools.

The contents of this downloadable file include a presentation with speaker’s notes, instructions, a resource list, and a tabletop exercise. Use it to deliver online or in-person professional development opportunities for teams or individuals. The goals of the 60-minute training module are to

• Help schools and school districts understand the core principles of CPTED;
• Demonstrate how CPTED is applied in a school setting; and
• Offer recommendations about how CPTED, through the SITE ASSESS mobile application, can be implemented.

Social-emotional learning and trauma-informed care help create safe and welcoming environments for the whole school community. Incorporating these concepts into emergency planning to meet the psychological, mental, and behavioral health needs of students and staff can enhance preparedness efforts and strengthen prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery capabilities. In Series 4 of our #REMSontheAir podcast, titled Understanding the Link Between Social-Emotional Learning and School Safety, REMS TA Center co-hosts discuss the roles of social-emotional learning and trauma-informed care in school safety, emergency management, and preparedness, as well as related topics such as adverse childhood experiences and secondary trauma, both during and beyond the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We explore how education agency leaders can integrate social-emotional learning and trauma-informed care into policies and practices to support a positive school climate, and how these approaches contribute to the creation of comprehensive, high-quality EOPs. Tune in to this episode to learn more about these important and timely topics and access all our #REMSontheAir episodes on the #REMSontheAir Podcast Library Web page.

Over the years, practitioners in the field have helped spread the word about the REMS TA Center. We appreciate all the ways that you have contributed to our goal of increasing school safety by spreading the word about the free resources, tools, training, and technical assistance services that we offer to schools, school districts, IHEs, and their community partners via social media, email, virtual and live events, and more. We are pleased to share three NEW videos that we have created for use by our partners and practitioners in the field.

• Engaging Virtually With the REMS TA Center — Download and watch this video about the variety of ways that practitioners and their community partners can engage with the REMS TA Center virtually.
• Live and Virtual Training From the REMS TA Center — Download and watch this video about the FREE live and virtual training offerings from the REMS TA Center for schools, school districts, IHEs, and their community partners to use for EOP development.
• Resources From the REMS TA Center — Download and watch this video about the FREE resources that the REMS TA Center offers for schools, school districts, and IHEs to use for EOP development.

You can access and download these videos via our Creative Materials Web page to support your local, regional, state, and Federal school and campus emergency preparedness events and initiatives. Post them to your Website, share them via social media, integrate them into your virtual trainings, or disseminate them to your partners to help spread the word about the availability of free resources, trainings, and tools from the REMS TA Center.