Visit the REMS TA Center Calendar to find
trainings, Web chats, conferences, and other
stakeholder activities and events for K-12 and
higher ed practitioners on safety, security, emergency
management, and preparedness topics. All events featured
are FREE to participate in and range from virtual to
in-person opportunities for engagement and professional development.
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Enhancing Emergency Operations Plans Through Inclusivity
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One of the key planning principles
for developing a high-quality school or higher
ed emergency operations plan (EOP) is that it includes
and provides for the needs of the whole school or campus
community, including students, staff, visitors, and
volunteers with disabilities and other access and functional
needs (AFN). Schools and institutions of higher education
(IHEs) can accomplish this by including a disability specialist,
special educator, or member of the IHE’s Office of Disability
Services on the core planning team. This will help ensure that
those with disabilities and other AFN are considered within
each section of the EOP and during every step of the
planning process. The below REMS TA Center resources
help schools and IHEs account for AFN in their EOPs.
Including and considering the needs of those with
disabilities and other AFN in all aspects of EOP development
advances equity in emergency management planning. This
thereby contributes to the safety and well-being of all
students, staff, and visitors before, during, and
after any emergency incident.
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School Social Workers Appreciation Week
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School Social Work Week is upon us! From March 5 to March
11, the REMS TA Center encourages everyone to take
time to shine a light on the positive impact that
school social workers have on students, families, and
school communities. School social workers serve as vital
members of core planning teams and can provide support in
prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery
from emergencies. According to the School Social Work Association of
America (SSWAA), the theme of this week is “We Rise.” School
social workers demonstrate the hope they have in bettering students’ lives
by listening, understanding, and challenging inequities. Each
day they rise to the many challenges of supporting all
students! Let’s come together to show gratitude for their ongoing work.
SSWAA is proud to promote National School
Social Work Week and has provided a few resources to
help you celebrate the occasion. Browse these resources to
brainstorm with your administration on how you can
be creative in thanking your school’s social worker.
Check out this Webinar by the REMS TA Center
that highlights the role of mental health
professionals, including school social workers,
in supporting school safety.
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Interactive Map of State Emergency Management Resources
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To meet a need in the field for a centralized source of
information on key areas of emergency management at the
state and local levels, the REMS TA Center created an
interactive infographic map, located on our State Emergency Management
Resources Web page! Supported through rigorous, ongoing research,
this interactive map offers resources for K-12 and higher ed
safety practitioners under four main foci: State Contacts and
Reports, Mandates, Offices of Federal and National Partners, and Grantees.
To get started, click on your state or territory, pick
a topic, and access information relevant to safety, security,
and emergency preparedness in your location. After choosing
your state, click on Contacts and Reports for a comprehensive
hyperlinked list of school safety contact(s), state partners, your
state education agency, and your state higher ed agency. Identify
national partners like those at the Departments of Education; Health
and Human Services; Commerce; Justice; and Homeland Security by
selecting Offices of Federal and National Partners. Or, if you are
looking for state-level research and policy, access school safety commission
reports for your state under Contacts and Reports and enhance your
knowledge of relevant legislation by clicking Mandates.
To support access to these resources, the REMS TA Center
released a NEW tutorial video. Watch it to learn more about the
features and functionality of the interactive map and download the
file to share and integrate it into team activities.
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Resources for Rural Schools on Emergency Management Planning
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As recommended in the Guide for Developing High-Quality
School Emergency Operations Plans (School Guide), school
EOPs should be customized to the building level and created
collaboratively. Rural schools and school districts can be
more limited in their access to resources, so understanding
what is available ahead of time is a critical component of EOP
development. The REMS TA Center has created a fact sheet
specifically for rural school leaders and core planning teams,
entitled Rural Schools: Emergency Management Planning for
All Settings. It provides information on how to engage in
emergency management planning in collaboration with community
partners as well as highlights the importance of the rural
community at large coming together to support safety,
security, emergency management, and preparedness in rural school settings.
Information within this fact sheet and across the
REMS TA Center’s Website and resources are from the
School Guide and The Role of Districts in Developing
High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans. These guidance
documents are based on years of emergency management
planning work and offer a six-step planning process
that may be used by all education agency types, including
those that are rural. The REMS TA Center recognizes the
unique needs of rural schools and school districts and is
happy to offer a fact sheet to support EOP development.
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Did You Know? Our Practitioner-Created Tool Box Offers 400+ Resources to Meet Your Daily Planning Needs
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Did you know that the REMS TA Center houses a virtual library
of tools that have been created by state and local
practitioners? The Tool Box currently features more
than 400 resources that can support schools, school
districts, IHEs, and their community partners as they
work to enhance EOPs and engage in emergency management
planning. In alignment with REMS TA Center efforts to help
support the development of equitable and accessible EOPs,
tools are offered in multiple languages, including
English, Spanish, Farsi, Korean, Albanian, Tagalog, and more.
Tool Box resources fall within the following categories:
- Checklists
- Drills, Tabletops, or Other Exercises
- Forms
- Job Descriptions
- Memoranda of Understanding
- Organizational Charts
- Planning Guidelines
- Procedures
- Reports
- Policy Documents
- Templates
- Trainings
Have you created tools, documents,
templates, or presentations
for your education agency to use in
emergency preparedness planning? Submit
your tool today to the REMS TA Center’s Tool Box, so that other practitioners in the field can benefit from your great work! All authors are given credit for their tools within the Tool Box.
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