What to do in the case of a school crisis

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While school should be a safe place for students and staff, this is not always the case. Last year, for example, more than 40 shootings occurred in the United States. In the face of such violent attacks in schools, how should teachers act in situations of danger?

In 2018, the National Educational Association (NEA) published the “School Crisis Guide,” a publication containing instructions on what teachers and managers should do in case of insecurity. Even after its release, many schools still do not have a strategy for school safety and do not know what to do in case of an emergency.

When there is danger, all actions must have a pedagogical meaning; following procedures is not enough; a strategy is needed to help turn that situation into an opportunity for personal and social growth for the entire community, including parents. The guide focuses on the importance of preventing, preparing, responding, and recovering. In prevention, the guide emphasizes creating a positive school climate as a way to prevent bullying, harassment, and suicide. By providing social, emotional, and behavioral support, students are prone to achieve their goals and increase graduation rates. Another way to prevent a crisis is by creating a framework to build community through dialogue to promote understanding and empathy.

Regarding prevention and prior preparation, it helps to make sure to include all the types of situations and settings that may occur. The plan should consist of community-wide participation in conjunction with local authorities. This cooperation will lead to broader protection of all parties involved -physically and emotionally- providing the necessary care during the aftermaths and supporting parents and students in the legal and psychological procedures needed. To achieve this unity, everyone must participate. Students should learn about taking care of themselves, what to do in case they are in a dangerous situation, participate in drills, and create awareness campaigns. This will help them know what their abilities are and how much they can help teachers and peers.

For parents, beyond caring for their children and cooperating with the community, they should avoid disclosing gossip or information provided by the school. In addition, meeting at school in times of insecurity and trying not to take emotional actions that may put others at risk. The community near any educational institution also plays an important role, mainly that of not spreading rumors and providing shelter for students, teachers, and parents. Besides, they can serve as an external connection to the world in case the school closes its doors, as well as continually monitoring the area and warning teachers or authorities in case they notice something strange.

The role of the authorities lies in protecting the population. They should be informing the educational community about what is happening, promoting preventive actions, helping them detect safe areas in the school, providing instructions to students and teachers on how to handle evidence, and how to report any act of violence or danger without putting themselves at risk. In the case of an emergency, they should quickly attend to the issue at the educational facility.

Although each school is different, decisions should be made that focus on teaching critical skills such as self-governing, knowing what attitudes can be risky, passively resolving conflicts, and fostering human rights, respect, solidarity, and other values that can save their lives and that of their peers.

At the beginning of each school year, each institution should perform a self-assessment of the problems and risks they face. It is also necessary to define strategies to handle possible security situations that include:

Assigning managers
Strengthening one another’s protection
Establishing networks of communication with parents
Including Civil Defense (or a similar entity, depending on the country) on the School Board
Organizing brigades
Having secret warning signals, such as sounds or keywords, to alert other teachers
Regular drills that include the participation of Civil Defense to document risk situations to address them
Regularly reviewing safety regulations, including the “School Crisis Guide.”
Having a directory with the contacts of the authorities and community members who can help; these contacts must be at hand

It is equally important to have an action plan during and after a crisis. At the end of an attack or incident, material, physical, and emotional consequences should be analyzed. The burst of a bullet or the sensation of tremors go away, but fear, anxiety, stress, and even worse, emotional problems remain. Hence, it is important to talk about what happened and try to turn the situation into learning. Also, it is handy to keep a log of the facts and events where it is recorded, what happened, how it was handled, what was done well, and what can be improved will help to learn from these situations.

What to do in the case of rumors of violent events?

Spreading rumors can create tension and panic in the community. It is crucial to have excellent communication with the authorities and reliable sources of information. Once you have the correct data, distribute it to parents and the community through internal means of communication such as email, talking directly on the phone with the parents, social media, or through an official statement on the school e-portal. The better the communication with the community about the subject or event, the less tension will be generated. The key is not to hide information; the school should also contact the authorities to investigate if a rumor is a real danger.

What to do in case of weapons inside the school?

Parents should avoid having weapons available to children to prevent incidents. This includes knives or other tools that can be used as weapons. If we happen to be in a situation where a student carries a gun, we should try to find out the student’s intentions: Is it to intimidate or impress someone? Is he or she only showing off? Or is it to attack others? If it is not a situation of danger, the teacher or someone trustworthy should try to talk to the student without treating them as a criminal, see how they can help them, and talk to their parents as soon as possible. In the case where the student is threatening to use the weapon, it is necessary to take it seriously and try to find out what led him to act like this. Does the student suffer from bullying?

The risk increases if the student has experienced violent behavior before, has suicidal tendencies, comes from an environment of domestic violence, or has threa
tened on previous occasions. As much as possible, the teacher should try to talk to him and offer solutions, without violence, and seek the support of a psychologist for the student. One should never scold, judge, or make sudden movements toward the aggressor; one should always try to treat the student with integrity. It is necessary to speak to his parents and inform the authorities.

In the event of a school shooting, Larry Banaszak, Chief of Police at Otterbein University, advises taking the following steps: running, hiding, creating a barricade, and, only as a last resort, attacking. The last point only applies in the case when the attacker is already in the classroom, and there is no way to run or hide. Banaszak recommends that the first student who sees the gun should shout, “Weapon!” and all other classmates, at the same time, start throwing books or objects at the attacker to make it difficult for him to hit a target. While some comrades are attacking, others should try to knock the shooter down, while others try to remove the weapon. Once the teacher or companions manage to disarm the attacker, they must immobilize him by sitting on each of his limbs until the authorities arrive.

The only way this technique of attack works is if the students are taught how to act on time. As mentioned above, students should know if they are strong enough to tackle the attacker, throw objects, or remove the weapon, as well as be in control of their emotions and not let panic dominate them.

How to maintain calm?

If teachers don’t control themselves, they will not be able to help their students. That’s why teachers need to learn how to manage their emotions and know how to act in risky situations. The ideal is to create a course where emotional self-control is discussed, where both parties, teachers, and students, can participate so that they can recognize their emotional strengths and weaknesses and thus assess whether they can remain calm in these kinds of situations. Simulations can help to know how to act and are an excellent opportunity to teach breathing techniques and analyses of situations of danger and crises. After a drill, everyone must ask: How do they feel? How are they talking? What is their attitude? It is always important to try not to scream and not be paralyzed by fear.

The importance of the socio-affective well-being of the community

Teachers should first be emotionally well in order to be able to help students. After a crisis, usually, the efforts focus on the students and not on the whole school community. Teachers should have a meeting in a warm environment of preference to talk about how they felt, evaluate what happened, and find ways to make them feel safe so they can continue protecting the students. This type of reflection allows teachers to assess and recognize that, although they are not in control, they do have the tools necessary to overcome a crisis.

The “School Crisis Guide” also gives tips on what to do on the day students return to class. It is important to decide if it will be a full day or half, have professional mental health professionals, start the day with a moment of silence, write letters to the victims and thank you notes to the respondents or offer homeschool options for those who are not prepared to come back. Finally, focus on the importance of community unity and creating a positive school environment. The institution should focus on mental health and how to help everyone overcome the crisis. Also, it should be taken as an opportunity to come closer as a community.