Terrorism and Schools

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Terrorism and Schools

• Mitigation
• Preparedness
• Response
• Recovery

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April 19, 1995 Oklahoma City
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September 11, 2001 New York
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September 11, 2001 Washington DC
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International Terrorism SchoolsWhich of these
countries has experienced acts of terrorism
specifically directed at schools?

• Canada
• Mexico
• Ireland
• United Kingdom
• Turkey
• Japan

• Spain
• Northern Ireland
• France
• Israel
• United States

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International Terrorism Schools

• Israel
• 1974 attack - terrorists took over the school.
  22 died, many injured
• Professional guards in every school since 1992
  school security is responsibility of Israel
  Police
• Threats suicide bombers, car bombs, close or
  long-range shooters, bombs placed in or near a
  school, terrorists taking hostages in a school

• Turkey
• Between 1984 1997, 146 teachers were killed,
  373 schools destroyed, and many children died as
  direct result of terrorism
• Walls have been constructed around schools
  crisis centers have been set up
• Threats come mainly from terrorists who live and
  train in Turkey

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July 15, 1976 Chowchilla, California
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May 21, 1998 Springfield, Oregon
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April 20, 1999 Littleton, Colorado
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October 2002 Washington DC

• Everyone, everywhere was a
• potential victim. No one was excluded.
• --FBI Special Agent Mark Hilts

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Sniper ShootingsImpact on Montgomery County
Public Schools

• Shootings significantly impacted the safety and
  security of the MCPS including students, staff,
  parents and the school community
• 14 area shootings 10 homicides, 3 wounded
• 6 homicides occurred in Montgomery County
• 5 on October 2 - 3
• 1 on October 22
• On Oct. 7 a 13-year-old Prince Georges County
  student was shot in front of school

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Key Decisions - October 3

• Superintendent declared a district-wide Code Blue
  
• (in effect Oct 3 - Oct 28)
• School on-site emergency teams were activated
• ALL outdoor activities, recess, extracurricular
  activities, open lunch, and field trips were
  cancelled
• Normal school dismissal occurred with police
  presence
• MCPS/police liaison assigned to share critical
  information

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Key Decisions - October 3

• MCPS crisis teams were dispatched to help provide
  mental health support and outreach services
• Superintendent convened MCPS command team two to
  three times each day
• District activated the Incident Command System
  emergency response plan
• Police officers, firefighters and federal agents
  provided security presence AM and PM
• FBI tactical helicopters flew low above schools

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Key Decisions - October 7

• Tasker Middle School student shot outside school
  in Prince Georges County, Maryland.
• Reunification plan was put into operation
• Superintendent sent letter to all parents
• Student safety patrols were prohibited
• More than 1,000 community members risked their
  lives volunteering to perform school crossing
  services
• State troopers were assigned to schools

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Key Events - Oct 22

• Bus driver shot and killed while getting off bus
• Parents afraid to send their children to school
• Code Blue continued
• School counselors, psychologists and crisis
  response teams continued to visit schools
• Stress debriefings held with many staff

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October 22

• Sniper note was released
• Your children are not safe anywhere at anytime.

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Impact on activities/athletics

• All outdoor sporting practices and activities
  were suspended
• 20,000 youth league contests canceled
• 1,102 high school games canceled
• 5,475 practices canceled
• High school gate receipts lost 250,000
• Regional playoffs rescheduled for 5 sports

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Cornerstones of success

• Careful planning and preparation
• Defining roles and responsibilities
• Managing information efficiently
• Maintaining effective communication
• Relationships, relationships

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It Wont Happen Here

• Preparation is the responsibility of every
  school, community, and state
• No region of the country is safe from the impact
  of terror
• TOPOFF 2 exercises raised questions

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What is Terrorism?

• The perpetration of a destructive act to inflict
  harm through
• damage to infrastructure,
• disruption of economy, or
• direct injury to humans, plants, or animals
• Terrorism seeks to create fear and insecurity
  resulting in long-term negative impacts

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Goals and Motivations

• The goals may be not only to harm specific high
  profile or essential targets but also to spread
  panic and fear throughout the population as a
  whole
• The motivations may be to further a political
  view or goal, to protest against a policy or an
  activity, or to try to effect a social change.

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Weapons Used by Terrorists

• The Murrah Building of Oklahoma City detonation
  of a bomb
• World Trade Center Towers conversion of jet
  aircraft into guided missiles
• Smaller scale attacks bombs hidden in dumpsters
  or cars and assassinations through use of
  high-powered rifles
• potential of terrorists employing Weapons of
  Mass Destruction

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Radiological Terrorism

• Nuclear weapons
• dirty bombs

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Chemical Terrorism

• Blood Agent (Cyanide), Incapacitating Agents
  (Anticholinergic compounds), Nerve Agents
  (Sarin), Riot-control Agents (Tear gas, Pepper
  Spray), Vesicants (Sulfur Mustard)
• Sources
• trucks transporting volatile solvents or
  pesticides
• stockpiles of chemical warfare agents
• Sarin gas attack in Tokyo Subway in 1994

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Biological Terrorism

• anthrax, plague, smallpox
• All have a high level of mortality or morbidity
  (serious symptoms of disease)
• Some have no specific treatment
• Some have no vaccine
• Most can be easily delivered to victims via a
  respiratory route (i.e., inhalation)
• All require both immediate public health
  intervention for those exposed and expert medical
  care

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Application to Natural Events

• not every school district will become the target
  of a terrorist attack
• have connections with public health department
  and hospitals
• the preparation also applies to accidents or
  natural disease outbreaks
• radioactive waste is transported
• toxic chemicals are stored
• pandemic influenza might occur

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Mitigation

• Reducing the chance that terrorism will lead to a
  disaster in schools

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Getting Started

• Many schools do not need new plans
• Few plans address how the school fits in with the
  larger public health and emergency management
  response to a community-wide event, such as a
  terrorist attack.
• Some parts of existing plans might need to be
  expanded or revised

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Comprehensive Safe Schools Planning Model
Re-establish Normal Functioning
Adapted from Office of Supt. Of Public
Instruction, Olympia, Washington 2005
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Comprehensive Safe Schools Planning

• To promote a supportive learning environment for
  all schools, OSPI has advanced the notion of
  Comprehensive Safe Schools Planning, including
  local assessments of
• p Physical plant
• p Human Resources
• p Administrative Policies and Procedures
• p Student and Parent Involvement
• p Curriculum and Instruction
• p Community Agency Partnerships (law
  enforcement, fire, emergency medical
  services, social and mental health
  services).
• Adapted from Office of Supt. Of Public
  Instruction, Olympia, Washington 2005

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School Emergency Response Plans Should Include

• Evacuation and back up evacuation plans
  developed, reviewed and drilled.
• Shelter-in-place plans developed, reviewed and
  drilled.
• Lockdown plans, coordinated with local law
  enforcement, fire, and EMS, and drilled on a
  regular basis.
• Fire and earthquake drills, conducted on a
  regular basis.
• Office of Supt. Of Public Instruction, Olympia,
  Washington 2005

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Assessment of Buildings and Grounds

• understand the pattern of airflow through
  buildings
• Assess hazards in the surrounding neighborhoods

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National Advisory Committee on Children and
Terrorism

• June 12, 2002 - June 12, 2003
• Public Health Security and Bioterrorism
  Preparedness and Response Act of 2002
• Recommendations to the Department of Health and
  Human Services related to terrorism and its
  impact on children
• The preparedness of the healthcare system to
  respond to terrorism/children
• Needed changes in healthcare and emergency
  medical services
• Changes, if necessary, to the National Strategic
  Stockpile (pharmaceuticals and medical supplies
  for a national emergency)

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What is Currently Being Done?

• School Food Biosecurity Guidelines
• International Forum on Response to Terrorism
• Threat Assessment in Schools a Guide to Managing
  Threatening Situations and to Creating a Safe
  School Climate
• Bomb Threat Guide

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What are the Gaps?

• make schools safer without turning them into
  places where children would not want to be
• link policies and practices to other areas of
  school health
• link schools or districts with public health
  agencies to improve data collection and analysis
• help students understand the root causes and
  history of terrorism
• teach students the skills, such as conflict
  resolution, prosocial behaviors and
  problem-solving that might lead to a decrease in
  violence in their world

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Preparedness

• Planning how to respond when an emergency or
  disaster occurs

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What is Currently Being Done?

• US Department of Education website for emergency
  preparedness www.ed.gov/emergency plan
• Federal funds to help school districts improve
  and strengthen emergency response FY 2004 30
  million
• Practical Information on Crisis Planning a
  Guide for Schools and Communities May 2003
• CDC funds education and health agencies
• FEMA The Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning for
  Schools Independent Study Course
• FEMA for Kids, www.fema.gov/kids

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What are the Gaps?

• No coordination between preparedness activities
• Few activities are designed to foster
  collaboration between education, public health,
  and other emergency responders at the state or
  local level
• School plans are often treated as a separate plan
  rather than as part of the community plan
• School plans tend not to be practiced as part of
  larger community preparedness exercises.

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Oklahoma City -- Lessons Learned

• Contingency planning contributes to an effective
  response
• Lessons learned also apply to natural disasters,
  industrial accidents and other catastrophes
• If disaster planning is part of the rhythm of a
  community, lives will be saved.

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Planning for the Unthinkable

• Have a Plan
• Test Your Plan
• Share Your Plan
• Repeat Exercises... and Then Do It Again
• If You Cant Afford Repeated Exercises, At Least
  Review Your Plans
• Forge Relationships
• Prepare Lists of Vendors and Service Providers

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Communications

• Communication technologythe physical ability to
  send and receive a message
• Disasters Overwhelm Telephone Networks
• Provide Alternate Communication Methods
• Use the Internet
• Consider Interoperability of Radio Equipment
• Use Mass Media as an Alternate Means
• Social communicationthe content of the message
• Avoid Jargon
• Keep Your Workers Informed
• Communicate Among Agencies
• Have Up-to-date Contact Information

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Media

• Use them to inform and educate
• You cannot over-plan for dealing with the Media
• Plan for a credentialing system
• Who says what?
• Set a schedule
• Use Media to your advantage
• Use the Media to make public announcements

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The Media will get their story
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Sample School Personnel Roles
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The America Prepared Campaign

• Preparedness in Americas Schools A
  Comprehensive Look at Terrorism Preparedness in
  Americas Twenty Largest School Districts

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The America Prepared Campaign

• Non-profit, non-partisan initiative
• Began in 2003
• Board of Directors and 14 national experts in
  emergency preparedness, media, marketing,
  government, and business
• Funded by Alfred P. Sloan and John D. Catherine
  T. MacArthur Foundations

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The Standard

• US Department of Education Practical Information
  on Crisis Planning A Guide For Schools and
  Communities
• America Prepared rated the largest 20 school
  districts in US in relation to their Preparedness
• Planning
• Drilling
• Communicating
• Best/Good/Needs Improvement/Failing

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Preparedness

• Planning comprehensive response to a terrorist
  attack or major natural disaster
• Drills conduct monthly drills of that plan
• Communication communicate to parents the
  pertinent details of the plan parents should
  know procedure for reuniting with children

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The Results

• BEST (3) has comprehensive and sensible
  emergency plan that deals directly with terrorist
  threats has necessary supplies on hand
• GOOD (7) has made significant progress toward
  the goal of preparedness while still needing some
  significant improvements
• NEEDS IMPROVEMENT (7)needs serious action in
  one or more areas
• FAILING (2)has performed unsatisfactorily in
  all three areas planning, drilling and
  communication

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Fairfax County, Virginia

• Number of Schools 241
• Students 166,601
• the most prepared district
• exhaustive emergency plan
• have some of the supplies kits with flashlights
  and first aid kits
• Model for DOE
• templates for schools
• communication templates for teachers and
  principals
• plan defines key roles

• planned response actions for terrorist
  emergencies
• continually perform drills (table-tops once a
  year with police fire and tornado drills
  walkthroughs of shelter-in-place and lockdowns)
• information on website in seven languages --
  specific information about what parents should do
  in an emergency

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Montgomery County, Maryland

• Number of Schools 190
• Number of Students 139,203
• model of preparedness
• exemplary multi-hazard crisis plan
• comprehensive checklist for schools
• communicate details of the parent/child
  reunification process to parents

• emergency codes used in Montgomery Code Red,
  Code Blue, and Code Blue Shelter-in-Place
• guidance on suspected chemical, biological, and
  radiological incidents
• two code red and two code blue drills a year, in
  addition to 10 fire drills
• www.schoolsout.com

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Chicago, Illinois

• Number of Schools 613
• Students 434,419
• Failing grade
• 25 percent of schools do not have an emergency
  plan of any kind
• Another 50 percent of plans are inadequate
• School district, Police and Fire departments do
  not work together in planning

• No back-up communication system
• Parents are poorly informed
• No special supplies in the school
• Drills only include fire drills
• No guidance on suspected chemical, biological,
  and radiological incidents

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Response

• Providing emergency assistance immediately
  following a disaster

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What is Currently Being Done?

• CDCs Public Health Preparedness and Response for
  Bioterrorism
• The Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS)
• Dept of ED program to certify teachers and other
  school staff in first aid.

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What are the Gaps?

• Lack of coordination and communication between
  public health, education, and other first
  responders
• State and local education agencies are not
  included on terrorism response planning
  committees
• Little attention has been given to the
  possibility that students might need to be
  quarantined at school. Schools and other first
  responders must be able to immediately address
  parent concerns about their childrens health and
  safety.

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Incident Command System

• Assures uniformity of command structure used by
  various responding parties
• Provides for common, easily understood language
• Promotes a manageable span of command (typically
  no more than seven individuals reporting to one
  supervisor)
• Coordinates use of resources
• Arranges for safety of responders
• Coordinates messages to the public and the media

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September 11, 2001

• I learned an important lesson on that daythat I
  could only run as fast as my slowest child.
• Teacher, P.S. 234 New York City

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Uncommon Sense, Uncommon Courage

• How the New York City School System, Its
  Teachers, Leadership, and Students Responded to
  the Terror of September 11

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The Report

• Decision Making
• Transportation
• Facilities and Support
• Food Services
• Communication
• Curriculum
• Mental Health
• FiscalStudent Safety
• Key Findings

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Timeline

• 846 am Plane hits Tower 1 WTC
• 902 Plane hits Tower 2 WTC schools in
  immediate area evacuate
• 921 subways and busses are disrupted bridges
  and tunnels closed
• 959 South tower 2 collapses
• 1029 North tower 1 collapses airspace shut
  down
• 957 pm closed schools next day
• 100 am (9/12) all students accounted for

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The scene

• 8 public schools within 1/4 mile of Ground Zero
  5 were in immediate danger
• 9,000 students ages 3 - 18 ALL were evacuated
  without injury
• ALL 1.1 million students in every part of the
  city got home safety
• 2,800 people died in the towers, including 343
  FDNY and 60 NYPD personnel
• 1,493 students lost someone in their family
• Many of the 9,000 witnessed the collapse of the
  towers

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Disaster planning was key

• Effective decision making is critical
• Emergency response plans must be dynamic
• The safety and well-being of responders must be a
  priority
• Communications will be compromised
• Resources will be stressed
• The recovery phase usually lasts longer than once
  can predict

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Decision Making

• Safe evacuation of all accomplished through
  on-the-ground decision making
• Responding to the unthinkable requires
  intelligence, creativity, and courage
• Fire drills were key
• Follow plans
• Change plans

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More decisions

• How students reached safety
• Fears that children were in danger, injured or
  dead
• Terrorism promotes a particular kind of chaos
• Consider geography in plans

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Communication

• Technological interruptions/failures
• Keep communication flowing
• Communication into the BOE
• Communication from the BOE
• Keeping children safe and getting them reunited
  with their families was the underlying message
  that drove all communication on 9/11.

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Communication Recommendations

• Communicate safety plans with parents
• Share with other emergency responders the
  complete safety plans
• Have three redundant systems of communication
• Coordinate these systems with emergency response
  agencies
• Plan process to communicate with the media
• Have single and approved source of information

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No one is ready for something like this.
Harold O. Levy, Chancellor
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High School of Leadership and Public Service
Ada Dolch, Principal

• A leader who saw a situation, assessed it and
  engaged in on-the-ground decision making
• A thorough knowledge of the physical layout
• Tools of communication - walkie-talkies
• A well informed and talented professional staff
• Well developed evacuation plan that had been
  practiced
• A disciplined group of students who knew how to
  follow directives
• A leader who advocated on behalf of her community

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Table - top Exercise

• Form into groups of 4-6 participants.
• You are the school crisis team for Anywhere
  Elementary School (grades K - 5 300 students).
  The principal has called you together as the
  crisis team one evening at 700 PM. The
  principal tells you that one of your 3rd grade
  students, Emily, has been found murdered in the
  park one block from your school. The news will
  be reported on the 1100 PM news broadcast. The
  family has been notified.
• What plans will you make to support the students
  and staff the following day at school?
• Who will be impacted? What emotions will you
  see?

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Exercise, part 2

• Additional news it is now 2 weeks after the
  murder. No suspect has been arrested though
  there has been extensive media coverage.
• A second elementary age student, from a different
  school in the area, is found murdered. There are
  no witnesses and no leads to the suspect.
• What additional steps does your crisis team take
  to ensure the safety of your students?
• How does this second murder impact the students
  and staff at your school?

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Recovery

• Restoring people to physical and mental health
  restoring vital systems

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What is Currently Being Done?

• Project School Emergency Response to Violence
  (Project SERV)
• Guide for Intermediate and Long-Term Mental
  Health Services after School-Related Violent
  Events
• Coping with Traumatic Events, Tips for Teachers
• National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)
• Trauma Information Pamphlet for Teachers

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What are the Gaps?

• Only a small percentage of children in the United
  States receive the mental health treatment they
  need
• Lack of information on baseline mental health of
  children in the absence of a terrorist event.
• Anxious or ill children do not learn well
• Little information is available to help school
  officials understand what remediation actions are
  needed after a terrorist event

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Emotional Responses to Terror/Trauma

• Fear
• Loss of control
• Anger
• Loss of stability
• Confusion
• National Association of School Psychologists
  www.nasponline.org

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9/11 A long road to recovery

• Occurred during regular school hours thus causing
  immediate and severe psychological trauma -
  students and staff
• 1600 students and 900 staff members lost family
  members
• Great potential for post traumatic stress
  disorder syndrome

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The Partnership for the Recovery in New York
City Schools

• Within 24 hours, recommendations given on
• how to explain the factual details of the
  disaster
• how to reassure children of their and their
  families safety
• how to connect childrens individual grief and
  feelings of loss with the grief and feelings of
  loss of their communities
• Resource guides provided to both parents and
  teachers on how to deal with and recognize the
  effects of trauma
• Personal letters of condolence

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Expanded mental health services

• FEMAs 60-day grant included grief counseling,
  individual and group interventions, and the
  development of multi-disciplinary approaches to
  treatment
• Direct services to children and families provided
  via a tier system school-based services referred
  people to community-based organizations and to
  hospitals
• Many mental health professionals offered their
  services pro bono
• 5 million US Dept. of Ed Project SERV grant
• Quality control considerations

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Additional mental health support

• debriefing session with Board of Education
  personnel
• mental health assessment comprised of a sample of
  10,000 children
• PTSD symptoms major depression, general anxiety,
  agoraphobia, separation anxiety, and conduct
  disorder

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Curriculum

• To foster a deeper comprehension about the events
  of 9/11, in terms of grief and loss, and ward off
  violence toward those who were Muslim or appeared
  to be Muslim.
• Goals
• help students handle the grief and anger
• work with concepts of conflict resolution
• to develop a context of learning around the
  issues

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NYC Two Years Later

• Keep kids safe and they will be able to learn
• Ada Dolch, Principal
• High School of Leadership and Public Service at
  Ground Zero

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We need to be better prepared much better
prepared than we are now. Gregory Thomas,
Director, National Center for Disaster
Preparedness

• Deeper and more professional ties with emergency
  management officials.
• The allocation of appropriate budgets to safety
  departments. A moratorium on budget cuts for a
  2-3 year period.
• The development of training materials tailored
  for principals, assistant principals, teachers,
  staff and children.

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Gregory Thomas, Director, National Center for
Disaster Preparedness

• Sharing of knowledge on a coordinated basis by
  those individuals directly involved in 9/11 as
  well as in other school based disasters, like
  school shootings.
• The engagement of parents, and community in
  planning and preparedness with specific reference
  to their role in ensuring the safety and
  wellbeing of the students.

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What weve learned.

• While we may not be able to prevent every major
  crisis, we can take actions to minimize the
  effects.
• Major crises natural and manmade have a
  significant impact on schools, even when not
  directed at schools
• Dealing with mental health issues of students and
  staff is essential to the recovery process
• Every school must have a multi-hazard safety
  plan

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What weve learned.

• Schools need to foster linkages with communities
  fire, police, mental health, victim services
• Practice makes perfect. Make schools a part of
  larger community drills.
• Plan ahead. Things can be done today that will
  help you tomorrow.
• Keeping schools safe is hard work!

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Our Challenge

• We have to go after this with an attitude that
  terrorism will happen again. It is not the
  question of if anymore, but the question of what
  the next event is going to be.
• By preparing for the imaginable we prepare for
  theunimaginable.
• Gregory Thomas, Director, National Center for
  Disaster Preparedness (2004)

86
National Association of School PsychologistsTerro
rism Workgroup

• Cathy Kennedy Paine, Chair. Special Services
  Coordinator, Springfield School District,
  Springfield, Oregon
• Craig Apperson, Program Supervisor, School Safety
  Security Programs, Washington State Office of
  Superintendent of Public Instruction, Olympia,
  Washington
• Jenny Wildy, School Psychology Graduate Student,
  Eastern Kentucky University
• Ralph E. (Gene) Cash, Ph.D., Associate Professor,
  Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale,
  Florida

87
Sources used in this presentation

• Apperson, C.D. OSPI Learning and Teaching
  Support. http//www.k12.wa.us/Safetycenter/
• Brill, Steven, and Phinney, Allison. (2004)
  Preparedness in Americas Schools A
  Comprehensive Look at Terrorism Preparedness in
  Americas Largest School Districts. America
  Preparedness Campaign, Inc.
• Brock, S.E., Sandoval, J., and Lewis, S. (2001)
  Preparing for Crises in the Schools, second
  edition. New York John Wiley Sons, Inc.
• Degnan, A. N. , (2004) Uncommon Sense, Uncommon
  Courage How the New York City School System, Its
  Teacher, Leadership, and Students Responded to
  the Terror of September 11. New York Columbia
  University Mailman School of Public Health.
• Diaz, A. (2003) National Advisory Committee on
  Children and Terrorism Recommendations to the
  Secretary. Atlanta, Georgia Centers for Disease
  Control.
• Ingraham, L.M. (2003) Terrorism Supplement to the
  Checklist for a Safe and Secure School
  Environment. Indiana Department of Education.
• International Meeting on Helping Schools Prepare
  for and respond to Terrorist Attacks. February
  13-14, 2002. Washington, D.C.
• Murphy, G.R., Davies, H.J., and Plotkin, M.
  (2004) Managing a Multijurisdictional Case
  Identifying the Lessons Learned from the Sniper
  Investigation. Washington D.C Police Executive
  Research Forum.
• Practical Information of Crisis Planning A Guide
  for Schools and Commuinities. (2003) U.S.
  Department of Education. www.ed.gov/emergencyplan
  
• Schools and Terrorism. (2003) A Supplement to
  the National Advisory Committee on Children and
  Terrorism Recommendations to the Secretary.
  Atlanta, Georgia Centers for Disease Control.