Emergency Action Plans

School emergencies can come in many forms. They may be natural or manmade disasters or result from willful violence. Whether these emergencies are large or small, they can have an immediate and powerful impact on a school community.

Some crises are by their nature beyond the ability of school personnel to prevent or even anticipate. Exceptions are crises precipitated by aberrant student behavior, specifically violence and suicide. Threats of violence and suicide must be taken seriously and are subject to crisis intervention. Faculty and staff must be watchful for other signs, some perhaps subtle and ambiguous, of possible or impending aberrant behavior. Small class size and close student-faculty contact allow us the possibility of undertaking a better prevention role. We must guard against the notion that it could not happen here.

Because access to our campus is unrestricted and the ability to monitor many areas is limited, the prevention of certain types of incidents (e.g., armed intruder, kidnapping) could well depend on staff awareness and vigilance. Identifying individuals or groups and reporting suspicious behavior to security are essential security measures. We must be vigilant in releasing students only to parents/guardians or those having written permission.

It is the school's intent and mission in emergency preparedness and crisis response scenarios to address, maintain and maximize the physical, emotional and personal safety and security of all adults and children on campus and to communicate with and respond to related families in such matters as pertain to them. The following pages are intended as a guide to school response under a number of circumstances.

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