Implementing Psychological First Aid for Schools
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Psychological First Aid for Schools (PFA-S) is an evidence-informed intervention model to assist students, staff, and families in the immediate aftermath of an emergency and can be used by any trained staff member or community partner. Trauma-related distress can have a long-term impact. PFA-S uses brief interventions to produce positive results that last. PFA-S is designed to reduce the initial distress caused by emergencies, allows for the expression of difficult feelings, and assists students in developing coping strategies and constructive actions to deal with fear and anxiety. A growing body of research shows that there are brief, effective interventions that have a long-lasting positive influence on trauma-related distress.
PFA-S is intended for students, school personnel, and families who have been exposed to a disaster or other emergency. Whether an emergency occurs on school grounds or in the community at large, schools serve as a central location for professionals to assist children, families, school personnel, and school partners. PFA-S is most effective immediately following or even during an incident. In some circumstances, assuming the safety of students and staff has been ensured, PFA-S can be initiated while an incident is still occurring, such as in shelter-in-place or lockdown situations.
There are several helpful PFA-S resources that schools, school districts, and institutions of higher education can utilize from
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)
and the REMS TA Center, including the
10 Tips for Teaching the Psychological First Aid Model for K-12 Education Agencies
and the
Trauma-Informed Care for Schools Before, During, and After Possible Emergency Events Webinar.
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Partnering With Parents and Families to Enhance School Safety
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Safe schools are everyone's responsibility, and families and caregivers play an essential role in establishing and maintaining safe schools! By engaging families and caregivers in school safety, security, and emergency management activities, schools and school districts can foster positive collaborative relationships ahead of an incident thus strengthening emergency operations plans (EOPs).
The REMS TA Center recently released a
NEW fact sheet
that identifies strategies for K-12 school and school district administrators, teachers, and staff to take when working with families and caregivers and their roles and responsibilities within the five mission areas—prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery. Use this fact sheet, our previously recorded Understanding the
Role of Families and Parents in Supporting School Safety Before, During, and After an Emergency Webinar, and our
#REMSChatWithAnExpert
Twitter Chat featuring Missy Dodds, school safety advocate and parent stakeholder, to educate your school community on how families and caregivers can
- Contribute to school safety programs;
- Advocate for the needs, health, and well-being of their students and other students within the whole school community; and
- Develop a collaborative planning team to support EOP development, as outlined in
Step 1
of the six-step planning process detailed in the
Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans.
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NEW Fact Sheet on After-Action Reports
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After an exercise or activation of an EOP, it is likely that you and your colleagues will have insight on successes, challenges, and opportunities for improvement. One impactful way to capture this information is to gather the planning team, debrief, and create an after-action report that evaluates results, identifies gaps or shortfalls, and documents lessons learned.
After-action reports capture the details of a recent exercise or activation and synthesize the information in a format that supports analysis and plan improvement. Often, information is sourced during a facilitator-led debrief session that occurs shortly after an emergency event or exercise. After debriefing, the findings are synthesized into a detailed report. Through the process of collaborative reflection, identification of strengths and weaknesses, and discernment of opportunities for improvement, planning teams can use after-action reports as an effective method for strengthening EOPs and incident response capabilities while actively implementing
Step 6
of the six-step planning process.
Understanding the value of post-incident analysis for K-12 and higher ed emergency management practitioners, the REMS TA Center released a NEW fact sheet –
After-Action Reports: Capturing Lessons Learned and Identifying Areas of Improvement.
This resource provides a detailed overview of after-action reports and their purpose, offers actionable best practices for developing an after-action report, and shares recommendations for integrating lessons learned to enhance emergency planning and response capabilities before, during, and after an incident.
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Incorporating EOP Development Into Onboarding Efforts for New Hires
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Has your education agency hired new staff that will be starting in the 2022-23 academic year? Have you considered how you will familiarize new staff with school safety, security, emergency management, and preparedness as a part of the onboarding process? Teachers, administrators, and staff all play an important role, and having that foundational understanding and terminology that is used in EOP development is key to enhancing your education agency’s capacity and creating a culture of preparedness. The REMS TA Center has several resources that you can use for onboarding efforts, as well as throughout the year to ensure your team is using the same terminology:
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Providing Supports for Students and Families Experiencing Homelessness
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For schools, continuity of operations (COOP) planning means preparing to support the whole school community in the event of short- and long-term student and staff absences, school dismissals, and/or school closures. This also includes the summer season, a time during which some students still need supports, such as students experiencing homelessness and displacement. According to the
Federal Data Summary School Years 2015-16 Through 2017-18
from the National Center for Homeless Education, the homeless student population increased by 15 percent from 2015-16 to 2017-18. With an increase in the homeless and displaced student population, the need for student and family support from education agencies also increases. It is imperative for educational agencies to plan for the provision of supports before, during, and after an emergency, including during the summer. By working with their school-based homeless/displaced youth liaison, education agencies can collaborate to update their
COOP Annex
to be inclusive of students experiencing homelessness.
Tune in to
#REMSontheAir
for an informative two-part discussion on planning for and supporting students who may be facing homelessness or displacement. School personnel, with their community partners, can use the information learned during this podcast episode to develop, revise, and continually enhance their COOP Annex and student supports.
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