Creating the School
Emergency Management Response Plan

This section is designed to provide a practical step-by-step approach to forming an Emergency Management Response Plan.  It addresses issues from team formation through submission of the plan to the superintendent’s office.  The first step in creating the Emergency Management Response Plan is forming the Emergency Response Team.  As introduced earlier, the team should represent the diverse training and expertise of the school community.

After the team is formed, the next step is for each team member to review this manual in its entirety, then, using the forms provided in this chapter, create the Emergency Management Response Plan.  Next, the Emergency Response Team should conduct a presentation at a faculty/staff meeting to update the entire staff regarding Universal Emergency Procedures, Emergency Management Protocols, Emergency Response Team assignments specific roles, etc.  Finally, the team will submit a copy of the plan to the Superintendent’s Office.

Using this guide (as adapted by your District Support Team) as a starting point, each school and school support building is to establish an Emergency Response Team and is to develop (or update) a Emergency Management Response Plan to include:

·        Clearly defined staff roles/responsibilities (an Emergency Response Team, Incident Command System, etc.)

·        Procedures for emergency evacuation, administering first aid, etc.

·        Setting up a “Command Post”

·        Establishing potential staging areas

·        Student accounting and release procedures

·        Assembly Areas

·        Guidelines for communication with the media

·        Establishing primary and back-up methods for communication (within school, with Central Office, and with parents and community)

Each Emergency Management Response Plan shall be updated yearly and submitted to the Superintendent’s Office, and shall reflect the actions required by all involved parties to minimize loss of life and injury to persons and property.

The school principal is responsible for supervising, monitoring and organizing the development of the school emergency plan.  Further, the principal is responsible for arranging a faculty/staff meeting within one month of the beginning of the school year to review the school’s plan and update staff regarding new procedures.  Best practice would indicate that this training take place prior to students beginning classes.