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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Supporting Students’ Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Academic Well-Being and Success
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Schools can keep learning environments safe for both students and school
staff, as well as ensure that every student is included, supported, and
treated fairly, using evidence-based practices. In March, the U.S. Department
of Education
released Guiding Principles for Creating Safe, Inclusive, Supportive, and Fair School Climates with
suggested actions that schools and school districts
can take to accomplish this important work. To complement this resource, the
Office of Safe and Supportive Schools’ REMS TA Center, Safer Schools and
Campuses Best Practices Clearinghouse, Title IV-A TA Center, National Center on
Safe Supportive Learning Environments, Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning
and School Safety, Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, and Student
Engagement and Attendance Center collaboratively
developed four fact sheets on supporting students’ social, emotional, behavioral, and academic well-being and success. Since
creating a positive school climate needs engagement from the whole school community, each
fact sheet focuses on a different role or group and offers strategies. The REMS TA Center
contributed to the fact sheets for school and district leaders to create and sustain
discipline policies and educators and school-based staff; the other fact sheets are designed
for student and teacher support teams and building relationships with families. Use
all four fact sheets along with the guiding principles to help create a safe, inclusive,
supportive, and fair school climate. The REMS TA Center offers a range of related resources
on our site for
developing comprehensive and equitable school safety plans, conducting
school culture and climate assessments, creating
a positive school climate, and
understanding student perceptions of safety and their impact.
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Beat the Heat: Preparing Schools for Summer Weather
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Summer months can be particularly challenging for PreK-12 schools, as extreme heat may introduce
health and safety issues for individuals within their communities. With temperatures
soaring, students and staff can become uncomfortable and at risk for heat-related
illnesses. By taking proactive steps to address the challenges posed by extreme
heat during the summer months, schools and institutions of higher education (IHEs)
can help ensure that students stay safe, healthy, and comfortable while they learn and grow.
Teachers, faculty, staff, and others can help prepare students by incorporating
lessons on how to stay safe in extreme heat into the curriculum, professional
development sessions, and trainings, including how to recognize the signs of
heat-related illnesses. School nurses, health directors, and athletic directors
can provide training to staff on how to identify and respond to heat-related
emergencies. In addition, schools can communicate with families to help ensure that
students are prepared for the heat in diverse settings, both during and outside of
school hours. Core planning teams can address extreme temperatures in the emergency
operations plan (EOP) and develop an Extreme Heat Annex that outlines courses of
action for before, during, and after high temperatures.
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Averting Targeted School Violence
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Research shows that individuals contemplating violence exhibit observable behaviors,
and, when community members report these behaviors, they can avert
the next tragedy from happening. The U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat
Assessment Center (NTAC) has released a NEW video highlighting the research from
their most recent study released in 2021, Averting Targeted School Violence: A U.S. Secret Service Analysis of Plots Against Schools. The video builds upon previous reports indicating
that targeted school violence is preventable. Teams that are dedicated to
preventing violence on their campuses are encouraged to review the video and report. These
resources may guide prevention efforts, school EOP development, and the
formation of multidisciplinary behavioral threat assessment and site assessment
teams to maintain a safe and supportive learning environment for students and staff.
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Supporting a School Community Through the Tragedy of Loss of Life
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Comprehensive school emergency management planning involves considering which
actions to take before, during, and after an emergency incident. Preparing
for the “after” time frame of an emergency will almost always require plans for
recovery, which is a complex and potentially long-lasting emergency management
function. Therefore, high-quality school EOPs should ideally contain a Recovery
Annex that details the school’s approach to recovery, including for emergencies
that result in the death of a student, staff member, or a member of the school community.
While this scenario may be difficult to imagine, there are concrete actions
schools can take to prepare themselves. The REMS TA Center’s NEW fact sheet,
Bereavement, Memorials, and Anniversaries: Developing a Recovery Annex for K-12 Schools, offers a wide range of information on how to prepare for an emergency
that results in the death of a member of the school community, such as learning
about bereavement, retraumatization, and complex trauma; establishing partnerships
with community mental health providers; and developing policies and guidelines for
memorials and anniversaries. The fact sheet shares how a Recovery Annex that addresses bereavement,
memorials, and anniversaries can guide the whole school community through the healing
process in the immediate, short-term, and long-term aftermath of an emergency incident. Consider
convening your core planning team this month to review your Recovery Annex and how
it considers the loss of a student or staff member.
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Preparing for Power Failure in Schools and Institutions of Higher Education
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When the power fails, the whole community can be affected. Whether the outage lasts a
few hours or is extended over a few days, power failures have the potential to disrupt
communications, water, and transportation; impact the availability of retail services; contaminate
and spoil food and water; and prevent the use of medical devices. At schools and IHEs,
power failure may also reduce access to digital learning resources and classroom materials,
prevent students from completing coursework, disrupt operations such as payroll, and force
administrators to delay digital recordkeeping. Power failure may be planned or unplanned
due to the occurrence or potential forecast of a natural hazard such as earthquakes,
floods, hurricanes, severe wind, or wildfire. Consider the following questions
as you prepare for power failure:
- Does your EOP have a Power Failure Annex?
- Does your Continuity of Operations Annex contain protocols for ensuring that a power failure does not impact food programs or the cybersecurity of learning management and other systems?
- Are there protocols in place for supporting students with access and functional needs during power failures?
- Does your Power Failure Annex outline protocols for transportation and family reunification during a power failure?
- Do you have established protocols in your Communications and Warning Annex for power failure?
The REMS TA Center’s
Emergency Exercises Training Package
and
The Role of School Facility Managers in School Safety Efforts Webinar
can help your education agency prepare for power failures. The training package
contains materials for conducting tabletop exercises for four scenarios, one of which
is power failure. Contents include detailed instructions, participant guides, podcasts,
and resource lists. Use this package to practice, review, and enhance your
Power Failure Annex. The Webinar highlights the important role that school facility
managers play in planning for before, during, and after power failure. Use the Webinar
to learn how you can strengthen your preparedness capacity for power failures and other emergencies.
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