PSW Program Highlight: The New Crisis Response Program

PublicSchoolWORKS’ new comprehensive Crisis Response Program is a district-specific program designed to ensure that school staff and the facilities where they work, as well as local agencies, are prepared to act in the event of a crisis, whether it be an active shooter, bomb / IED or other crisis event.

The program’s training courses include staff training such as Bomb Threat/IED Preparedness, Emergency Response Procedures and School Lockdown Drills, and two different Active Shooter Response courses — Active Shooter Response - Lockdown, Barricade, Escape and Active Shooter Response - Lockdown, Barricade, Escape, Counter Attack.

The new Active Shooter courses teach employees to identify when it is safest to secure or barricade a classroom, as well as when it is appropriate to hide and/or evacuate in the event of an active shooter situation. The courses also instruct staff how to interact with law enforcement officials so they do not hinder law enforcement efforts.

In addition to this information, the Active Shooter Response - Lockdown, Barricade, Escape, Counter Attack course helps staff understand how to properly flee, and as a last resort, use physical aggression to scare off or surprise and overpower the shooter.

The Crisis Response Program also includes safety tasks that manage the timing of drills and other activities — such as Crisis Response Drills, Ongoing Security Maintenance and Building-specific Tasks — for administrators, as well as the review of plans, procedures and informational forms with staff, parents and local agencies.

And, to engage parents in the process, the Crisis Response Program provides the PublicSchoolWORKS Parent InfoCenter. The Parent InfoCenter gives students, parents and other members of the community access to the Student Bullying & Safety Reporting Systems and national crisis hotlines, as well as providing parents access to student safety information. This allows parents to be just as informed concerning the signs of bullying or other student safety issues.

While training is extremely important to ensuring school safety, effective crisis plans provide both sufficient preventative measures for schools and ample information and communication tools for both parents and students. To learn more about how your district can prepare for school crises with the Crisis Response Program, email sales@publicschoolworks.com.