In the context of this evaluation, two cases, including The Bomb Threat and Response and The School Shooting and The Response, were assessed. In the first case scenario, a receptionist with the principal of the school analyzed the phone call informing about a bomb and identified its ID while assuming the bomb’s location in the art area. Simultaneously, the meeting of the assessment team was organized, and responsibilities were delegated (calling and visiting the identified location). Using this method assisted in saving time and responding to the situation quickly. Informing the assistant superintendent was also critical to ease the process and get the required help.
Simultaneously, the unordinary object was discovered while the building was informed and evacuated due to the threat. As for the shooting incident, the initial step was to calm down the students to avoid the panic, and after that, inform the rest of the school about the red code situation and initiate the lockdown, call for help of a school resource person, and contact the required services. In both of these situations, the sequence of actions helped react quickly to the accidents and minimized their fatal consequences.
In the case of the unexpected situation at schools, school management and teachers have to be able to analyze the accident, act according to the established plan, stay attentive and careful, avoid panic, and rely on effective and safe search techniques (Benerjee & Ercetin, 2013). In both situations, the observed skills complied with the key characteristics mentioned above, as the management, along with staff, carefully implemented crisis management plans. Along with that, acting in collaboration helped them become effective and make decisions as fast as possible. In this case, it could be said that teamwork was one of the most important matters to ensure efficiency (Daft, 2015).
The post-crisis actions are also of paramount importance, and student counselor plays a pivotal role in the recovery process. In this case, during several first days after the crisis, it is essential to be responsive and provide long-term mental health support to both students and staff (National Education Association, 2017). These goals can be achieved by organizing individual or group sessions, as this support will help minimize the risks of the development of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (National Education Association, 2017).
Subsequently, the main activities will include organizing educational sessions, classroom discussions, group, and individual meetings while focusing on the students with the symptoms of PTSD (Studer & Salter, 2010). Simultaneously, it is vital to provide support to parents of the students, as they were also traumatized by the event, and contacting them and explaining the situation are priorities. Overall, covering a diverse range of school’s stakeholders will help minimize the adverse consequences of the crisis and return to daily routines.
Lastly, I believe that the situations described above and responses to them show the reality of the modern world and describe potential effective ways to react to them. Nonetheless, apart from the characteristics stated above, there are additional evidence-based intervention skills that can make a response to the scenarios more efficient. For example, educating teachers and including first aid training in the curriculum can decrease the number of deaths during diverse emergencies (Buck et al., 2015).
At the same time, it will be essential to perform a system search while informing police and other services immediately about the problem and starting providing psychological support to the students. Consequently, the main strategies may include following the lockdown drill or emergency plan, evaluating the location of the treat, adjusting the drill to the situation, and implementing the actions such as evacuating or building barricades (National Association of School of Psychologists, 2014).
References
Benerjee, S., & Ercetin, S. (2013). Chaos, complexity, and leadership. New York, NY: Springer Science+Business Media.
Buck, E., Remoortel, H., Dieltjens, T., Verstraeten, H., Clarysse, M., Moens, O., & Vandekerckhove, P. (2015). Evidence-based educational pathway for the investigation of first aid training in school curricula. Resuscitation, 94(1), 8-22.
Daft, R. (2015). Management. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
National Association of School of Psychologists. (2014). Best practice considerations for schools in active shooter and other armed assailant drills. Web.
National Education Association. (2017). School crisis guide: Help and healing in a time of crisis. Web.
Studer, J., & Salter, S. (2010). The role of the school counselor in crisis planning and intervention. Web.