Welcome Attendees

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Welcome Attendees
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Housekeeping Notes

• Please turn cell phones and pagers off or to
  vibrate mode during sessions. Ringing, beeping or
  electronic music going off during the workshops
  is extremely distracting to everyone in the room.
• Evaluations These will be given out during each
  session. Completed evaluations should be turned
  in after each session to the registration desk.
• CEUs To receive a CEU certificate attendees
  must sign out at the registration desk AND turn
  in their evaluation form(s).

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Coping with Crisis Top things to consider in
crisis intervention and consultation
Dr. Scott Poland National Emergency Assistance
Team Crisis Coordinator Nova Southeastern
University spoland_at_nova.edu
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THINK PREVENTION

• Know the leading causes of death for children and
  create prevention programs
• Know the real statistics about school violence
• Know the protective factors for children
• Create a school safety task force and include
  students

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Theoretical Orientation

• Primary prevention---- activities to prevent
  crises
• Secondary intervention---- short term activities
  to manage and minimize crisis
• Tertiary intervention---- long term assistance
  for those most affected

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You as a Responder

• Getting involved in crisis interventionmy first
  year at middle school
• Get training and keep certificates
• When a crisis happens--Take a deep breath and
  mentally affirm your own ability to help

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Scenario

• First night of Christmas vacation and tragically
  a 9th grade boy has just been pronounced dead at
  the hospital. He was the victim of a scooter
  accident witnessed by friends. Large numbers of
  his friends have gathered at the hospital and now
  have been told to leave the premises. What do you
  thing the school leaders should do?

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Crisis Scenario

• Elementary students on a school bus view the body
  of a suicide victim
• What do you recommend as an intervention?
• What information should be provided for parents
  and what activities at school the next day?

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Parent Permission Issues

• Intervention is provided for all students grades
  1 to 6 who were on the bus
• Parents sue claiming intervention was
  inappropriate and they had not given permission
• Parents claim that their 1st grader now has PTSD
• What does NASP say?

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Care for the Caregiver

• Please discuss in small groups how your school
  system has supported members of the crisis team.
• Do members of the team ever burn out and is it
  okay to sit a crisis out?
• What recommendations do you have for increased
  support in the future?

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Have Correct Information

• Verify details with more than one adult and/or
  police. Contact the affected family.
• Triple-check details with sources before taking
  any action or making any statements. Tell the
  truth.
• What if you are unsure if the death was a suicide?

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Advising the Administration in a Crisis

• Avoiding an underestimate
• What if the administration does not want to tell
  the truth?
• Hold your emotions example
• Support from the top is important
• Get involved quicklycell phone numbers and
  calling tree
• Crisis materials ready and accessible

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Advise the principal in this domestic violence
crisis

• The father has murdered the entire family and
  taken his own life after a standoff off with
  local police
• This tragedy is the number one news story in your
  community
• Three elementary girls grades K, 3rd and 5th were
  among those killed

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How to Intervene

• Pep talk before school for faculty
• Helping the teacher
• Entering the classroom
• What to say to students

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Crisis Team

• Make decisions as a group.
• Experience has found that the wisest crisis
  response decisions are made in a group.
• Review crisis plan together.
• Assign responsibilities
• Empower crisis team members.

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Crisis Team

• Your team will be important through out the
  crisis and beyond.
• Know their strengths (e.g., expertise, writing
  and presentation skills).
• Remember to consult them often and to support
  them.

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Staff

• Communicate with all staff and stakeholders. Help
  the faculty first!
• Methods to convey the facts.
• Dont promise that everything will be okay
• Affirm that you will do all thats possible to
  make things better.

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Geographical Proximity
Outside the disaster area
Within hearing distance
Near the disaster area
Direct exposure
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Psychosocial Proximity
Identification with or similarity to victims
Acquaintance
Near family or close friend
Immediate family
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Population at Risk
Oversensitive
Difficult personal or social crisis
Significant loss in the past year
Recent or similar trauma
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Circles of Vulnerability
Geographical Proximity
Population at Risk
Psychosocial Proximity
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Tragedy On The First Day Of Summer

• A student who just graduated from 8th grade is
  killed in a drive by shooting one week into
  summer vacation
• What should be the response of the school?

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Managing waves that descend on a school in crisis

• Police
• Parents
• Media

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Communication Ideas

• Send out an all staff e-mail with details and
  what to say to students.
• NASP has much of this information already
  prepared and downloadable.
• Teachable Moment Lesson Plan (PolandPoland)
  www.nasponline.org

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Community

• Inform parents of the situation.
• Unite students with family as soon as possible.
• Have sign-out procedures in place to keep
  records.
• Utilize media to get out important messages
• Meetings for parents

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National Tragedies

• What was it like at your school on 9/11/01?
• What recommendations do you have for your school
  when the next national tragedy occurs?
• What information should be given to students?
• Should televisions be on in classrooms?
• How do you support the school and community?

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Community

• Use phone messages and/or e-mail to keep parents
  consistently apprised of details and plans.
• Post information on the school web site
• Utilize school television stations
• Reopen school as soon as possible
• Accept volunteer help but keep records of their
  recommendations.

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Midwestern Suicide Cluster

• Six Suicides Between August and December
• Small Group Activity What can be done?
• Groups Report on Postvention Strategies

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Considerations after a suicide

• What should you say to students?
• Who would be most at risk to imitate the suicides
• How can prevention effort be improved?

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Tips for helping students

• Share information in developmentally appropriate
  ways
• No one should be lied to or misled about the
  circumstances. Recognize all the connections
  around the school system.
• Students need to hear sad or tragic news from
  trusted adults and should be able to ask
  questions.
• Turn off TVs and gather students in a circle and
  talk about the event and their perceptions,
  safety concerns and sources of help.
• Help everyone identify previous and current
  sources of support

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Media

• Have media policies and procedures already in
  place that set limits and keep media away from
  staff and students.
• Caution staff and students about speaking with
  media
• Designated spokesperson should prepare written
  statements and rehearse sound bites for
  television that include mental health and safety
  recommendations

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Media Interview Exercise

• A tornado has hit your community and no one was
  seriously injured but many homes were destroyed.
• Please respond to questions about how to help the
  affected children and families and what reactions
  might parents notice in children and how can
  parents best assist their children?

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Creating a Caring Climate

• Know that the crisis becomes the curriculum for a
  few days.
• Provide guidance about when to resume the
  curriculum and when its okay to resume testing.
• K-12 schools should stay open as source of
  support and consistent routine after tragedies
• Provide guidance about homework and tests and
  certain rules/expectations may need to be relaxed

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More Recommendations

• Re-establishing routines is helpful to all.
• Initial support is often high but wanes at a much
  faster rate than the need for support.
• Resiliency---the ability to bounce back has
  several key factors.

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Follow Up Services

• Identify and seek help for most affected students
  and staff.
• Some will need more support due to past traumas
  and/or mental health issues.
• Seek extra help for those struggling more than
  normal.

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More Recommendations

• Dont underestimate the long term impact of a
  crisis and be aware of anniversary dates.
• Accept help from outside as your professionals
  may need help.
• Community mental health services.
• State crisis team.
• NOVA and the Red Cross.
• NASP NEAT Team

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Recovery

• Be careful with memorials. Allow for a spectrum
  of cultural beliefs.
• Regarding memorials
• Recognize that students often need a project or
  activity to channel their emotions and to make a
  difference

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Memorials Do

• Prepare for the needs of students both preceding
  and following memorial activities.
• Inform staff about memorial activities help them
  understand emotions and behaviors that students
  may show.
• Establish assistance plans and a referral system
  for students in need.
• Emphasize signs of recovery and hope during
  memorial activities.

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Memorials Dont

• Require attendance by students or staff or force
  sharing of feelings and ideas.
• Focus the memorial on the uncontrollable aspects
  of the crisis.
• Pathologize normal grief reactions or minimize
  serious, atypical ones.
• Assume that one size fits all when developing a
  memorial.
• Schedule it at a time that doesnt permit
  participants to discuss or process their
  experiences.

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Memorial Scenarios Your Thoughts

• Two granite memorials in front of the school to
  honor homicide victims
• Permanently closing off and labeling lockers for
  deceased students
• A memorial service on the steps of the school
  where the student shot himself
• A cabinet in the counselor reception area with a
  plaque in memory of a suicide victim

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Recovery

• Remember that meeting the social-emotional needs
  of students will affect their long-term academic
  success.
• Remember the 602020 rule!
• Prevention programs.
• Caring faculty.
• School connectedness.

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Other Key Points

• Plan for when the administrators or nurse is out
  of the building.
• Have emergency signals, lock down procedures,
  emergency kits, and be able to account for staff
  and students
• Conduct CPR training for students and staff.
• Establish relationships with local police and
  provide floor plans of all campus buildings.

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Threat Assessment Teams Recommended by

• FBI
• Secret Service
• Colorado Governors Report on Columbine

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Recommendations as to who should be on a school
threat assessment team?

• Teacher
• Security/police
• Community law enforcement
• Mental health
• Administrator

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School Example

• Mrs. Jones a parent calls transportation to
  report that her daughter Julie received an e-mail
  from Ben a student which stated he is going to
  shoot kids on the middle school bus tomorrow.
  Mrs. Jones is concerned about her daughters
  safety. What should you do as your first step?
  Who needs to get involved?

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Case example continued

• The suspected perpetrator a 7th grade boy is now
  at school and you are about to interview him
• What information from his background and school
  records might be helpful?
• What approach might you take and what are the key
  questions you will ask?

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Continued

• The suspected perpetrator readily admits that he
  had intended to shoot everyone on the bus as he
  has been the victim of repeated bullying and in
  fact had his thumb broken by another student
  named John on the bus last week
• What is your next step and how could you reduce
  the stressors for this student?

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Expectations of Mental Health Professional

• Can not definitively determine if a student is
  capable of violence but can determine risk and
  protective factors and should provide a written
  report with recommendations.

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MH Assessment Report

• Identifying information
• Referral is not for eligibility
• Findings about students mental state, school and
  family history, how they present, stress and
  conflict
• Conclusions, summary, treatment recommendations
  for a safety plan

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Suspected Perpetrator

• Review school discipline records
• History of depression,aggression or delinquency
• Exposure to violence
• Current stress
• Peer relations
• Coping mechanisms and level of support

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Parent Interview

• Convey your interest in helping child
• Determine parent knowledge of threat and
  willingness to help
• Gather information about family
  dynamics/stressors, communication patterns and
  presence of weapons
• Developmental history especially with regards to
  violence, peer relations and mental illness

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• Once a threat is made, having a fair , rational,
  and standard method of evaluating and responding
  is critical!

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Classify these threats as transient or substantive

• A student tells other students after school
  he/she are going to get another student and on
  interview expresses long standing hatred for the
  intended victim
• An angry student threatens to kill another
  student in class and when interviewed apologizes
• 1st grader has a gun his father left in his
  backpack

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Example

• A middle school teacher is anxious and upset as
  the student who threatened to kill her own child
  is now returning to his home campus from an
  alternative program.
• What might help alleviate her fears?

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Suicide/Legal Case

• An 8th grade boy who was disciplined for truancy
  goes home and kills himself
• He leaves behind a note saying the AP is a blank
  and he had to many problems
• The parents sue claming their child was denied
  his constitutional right to participate in an
  Immigration Rally. How would you defend the
  school district?

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In Conclusion

• Help is available.
• Work as a team.
• Take care of yourself.
• Think prevention and preparation.
• Crisis creates lasting change and an opportunity
  to do
• things differently in the future.
• spoland_at_nova.edu

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Resources

• Scott Polands books are available at
• Sopris West www.sopriswest.com
• He has a regular column on crisis for District
  Administration www.districtadministration.com