Jerome Joint School District No. 261

NON-INSTRUCTIONAL OPERATIONS 8300P

Emergency and Disaster Preparedness

The Jerome School District has developed procedures for dealing with existing and potential student and school

crises. The District Emergency Plan should include Crisis Response Procedures and Critical Incident Procedures. An important component of the District Emergency Plan is intended to aid timely communication and help coordinate services between the agencies and individual schools or the entire District. Crisis Response

Procedures guide staff in responding to more frequently occurring crises, such as deaths of students or teachers and other traumatic events, which can affect the school community for a long period. These procedures are intended to be time-limited, problem-focused interventions designed to identify and resolve the crisis, restore equilibrium, and support productive responses. The crisis team uses crisis response procedures to help administrators:

1. Gather information;

2. Establish communication with families;

3. Disseminate accurate information to faculty and students;

4. Intervene directly with students most likely to be affected;

5. Increase the available supportive counseling for students and staff; and

6. Guide students in helpful ways to remember the deceased.

Critical Incident Procedures help school personnel handle potentially dangerous events such as an armed intruder in a school and other life-threatening events. The District has developed an Emergency Plan which emphasizes a coordinated interagency approach. An Emergency Plan shall be established in all school buildings to provide a uniform method of warning staff and students of high risk situations involving imminent danger to life or limb.

Jerome School District’s Emergency Plan procedures provide benefits for students, parents, and the District. The

procedures provide an organized, systematic method for helping students. Staff members know under what

circumstances and how to refer a student for help. Crisis Team members operate within specific guidelines to

make collaborative decisions and share the responsibility for these often difficult, stressful situations. Parents and other members of the community are assured that the District has established procedures which better prepare schools to respond to crisis.

In the event of an emergency, employees are expected to remain at their worksite to ensure the safety and

security of students under their care and/or the school’s care until otherwise directed by the school administrator

or person in charge. Those employees who have a child in another school should have arrangements in place for

the care of their child by others until they can be released from their duties. Employees are strongly encouraged to take all steps necessary to provide for the well being of their family in advance of any major disaster. This will

hopefully moderate fears and concerns sufficiently to permit rapid and effective completion of assigned tasks to

ensure the well-being of students and staff.

Possible Hazards in Idaho

An emergency is a sudden, unexpected occurrence requiring immediate action to stabilize a situation. Emergencies may affect school facilities and/or school transportation and may prevent use for an unspecified period of time.

The District Emergency Plan should address a range of events and hazards caused by nature or humans, such as:

1. Severe weather;

2. Bus crashes;

3. Bomb threats;

4. Student or staff deaths;

5. Chemical or hazardous material spills;

6. Fire;

7. School shootings;

8. Medical emergencies;

9. Acts of terror or war; and

10. Natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornados, floods, and volcanic eruptions.

Direct responsibility for what may occur immediately following a response to a 911 call will lie with the first

responders, such as police or fire department. The District’s first responsibility is to ensure the immediate safety of students and staff by activating the appropriate Emergency Plan Procedures.

To assist and expedite setup, the Board directs that emergency plans and procedures be developed, implemented,

and maintained for all schools, District facilities, and school buses, and that:

1. All employees be informed about the emergency plans and procedures to be followed at their work site to

ensure their safety and the safety of others;

2. Students and employees practice the emergency procedures implemented at theirschool or work site;

3. Parents be advised of the emergency procedures developed at the school their child attends;

4. If materials and supplies beyond those normally provided by the School District are to be kept on hand to

augment the school emergency procedures, then it shall be the responsibility of each school to obtain and

maintain such supplies in good order; and

5. This policy be reviewed annually.

Function of Emergency Plan

The District Emergency Plan should include the sequences of managing a disaster. Those sequences are as follows:

1. Mitigation and Prevention addresses what schools and Districts can do to reduce or eliminate risk to life

and property;

2. Preparedness focuses on the process of planning for the worst-case scenario;

3. Response is devoted to the steps to take during a crisis; and

4. Recovery deals with how to restore the learning and teaching environment after a crisis.

Crisis management is a continuous process in which all phases of the plan should be reviewed and revised.

The District will work with law enforcement officers and emergency responders to identify crises that require an

outside agency to manage the scene, such as fires, bomb threats, and hostage situations.