The unending plague of shootings at schools and universities is deeply unsettling for any school employee to think about.
In the moment, how would one respond to a true emergency? Would “run, hide, fight” come to mind, or would another instinct take over?
Training can help prepare people. However, fire drills are often the only emergency training that schools undertake, since most jurisdictions require them by law. Instilling a learned response to other crises is not required and, as a result, these reactions tend to be far more ad hoc.
Another way to help is giving people information ahead of time. This is an area where communications can assist.
Develop a ‘grab-and-go’
For example, immediate, must-do instruction for particular situations could be summarized in a brief document. This could hang in classrooms, hallways and offices for use as a “grab-and-go” when needed. And, of course, every institution needs a complete emergency management plan that leaders would reach for when needed.
At many schools, such planning is handled by a crisis team, made up of senior administrators who meet regularly. Communications should be represented on this team. If it isn’t, the director can ask to sit down occasionally with team leaders to discuss possible projects.
Developing a grab-and-go is a good first project to pursue together because it calls on the team to distill a thick plan document into, at most, a handful of half-sheets. Priorities would become clearer and language simplified.
Such a publication should address the most common or critical scenarios:
- Fire
- Armed intruder/lockdown
- Severe weather/shelter-in-place
- Medical emergency
- Chemical exposure/evacuation
Institutional circumstances are unique, of course, so adjust this list as needed to address the situations that most worry your crisis team.
Just remember: In a real emergency, no one will read more than bullet points. Keep the information short and directive.
Once the content is finished, print the grab-and-go (think about bright, eye-catching colors for the cover) and hang it everywhere. Err on the side of putting up too many, rather than too few. The sight may be jarring at first, but students, faculty and staff will quickly come to see it as just another decoration. Until it becomes essential.
Other projects for communicators
With the crisis team, look for other situations where communications could help. For example, most schools urge faculty and staff, “If you see something, say something.” That charge becomes easier for employees to fulfill by giving them, say, a wallet-size card with cell phone numbers for school leaders.
Another project could be publishing checklists to assist the school’s first responders through certain scenarios.
Schools have many, many opportunities to improve emergency preparedness, and communications is central to any crisis response. The sooner the communications office begins working closely with the people who lead that response, the better for the institution.
One final point: Any conversation about security and emergency response can make people nervous and uncomfortable. Talking about such sensitive information with outsiders is even harder. Gleaning best practices from peer schools, then, may be too much to ask.
If a school’s crisis team believes a broader perspective would help spotlight what’s being overlooked, it will likely find better results by bringing in a consultant than by calling other schools.
Developing crisis materials can be challenging work. But you are providing a great gift to your school: helping everyone prepare for the day that no one wants to arrive. A little bit of foresight pays huge dividends when confronted with something unanticipated.
This post is adapted from the November 2023 issue of Refill, a newsletter published by Fine Point Communications.
