View Our Shop
  1. Home
  2. SBD Blog
  3. A Principal's Guide to Crisis Management and Recovery

A Principal's Guide to Crisis Management and Recovery

RSS
A Principal's Guide to Crisis Management and Recovery

A wide range of potential crises can occur at kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) schools, including natural disasters, acts of violence and emergency situations. As a school principal, you are responsible for safeguarding the well-being of your students and staff. With your leadership and a clear guide, you can help strengthen student and school safety.

If you're looking for an actionable roadmap for crisis management and recovery, we've got you covered. We'll break down the complex process into a five-phase framework, known as the five Ps. Use this framework to create your plan to help re-establish educational continuity afterward. 

Table of Contents

Phase 1: Predict

The foundation of safety is foresight, which is why the first phase requires you to make some predictions. If you can anticipate what could happen, then you can develop strategies to minimize their impact. There are various assessments that can help analyze and monitor early warning signs. 

Conduct a Risk Assessment

A risk assessment helps identify potential risks and hazards in and around your school. You'll also assess any physical, digital and procedural vulnerabilities. Here are a few categories to go over: 

A risk assessment includes evaluation of these five categories
  • Social: Active shooter, bullying, terrorism and vandalism
  • Natural: Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires
  • Technological: Data breaches and ransomware attacks
  • Operational: Utility failures, infrastructure breakdowns and equipment issues
  • Security: Access control and surveillance

Another component of a risk assessment is evaluating the potential effect of these risks and vulnerabilities. Consider the impact on your school's staff and student body, property, operations and reputation. You can rate the impact of each risk as low, medium or high. Include the likelihood of each risk and vulnerability happening, also giving a rating of low, medium or high. You can use each risk's impact and probability to calculate a risk score. The more severe the risk score, the higher the priority. 

Of course, you don't have to perform this assessment alone. Including other school stakeholders will help ensure you cover all your bases. Consider involving your administrators, faculty leaders, IT officers and security staff. It may be wise to also consult with your local law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services (EMS). 

Ensure you document all your findings and share them with relevant stakeholders. Use this assessment to update policies in student and parent handbooks, and remember to review and update it as needed. 

Additional tools and resources:

Perform a Behavioral Threat Assessment

A behavioral threat assessment differs from a risk assessment in that it focuses solely on students. Identifying students who may pose a threat to themselves or others is a critical assessment that helps prevent school violence. Types of behaviors to assess for include: 

  • Aggressive or irrational behavior
  • Severe depression or irregular emotional behavior
  • A radical change in behavior, performance, appearance or conduct

You will work with your Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) team to proactively evaluate and manage high-risk students. One way to do this is through a centralized, anonymous reporting system. Students and other members of the school community can use this system to provide any information on student wellness and safety concerns. 

Additional tools and resources:

Phase 2: Prevent

Once you have predicted potential risks, the next phase focuses on preventing them. You'll want to take proactive measures to create a safer physical and psychological environment, mitigating threats and reducing their impact. The primary goal is to decrease the need for a risk response, phase four, rather than increasing response capability. 

Enhance Physical Security and Safety

Schools can take on a layered strategy to improve their physical security. Implementing various proactive measures will act as a shield against identified threats, such as unauthorized access and acts of violence. It's the first line of defense in protecting students and staff within the perimeter. 

Here are practical ways to enhance school security and safety: 

  • Implement access control 
  • Install interior and exterior surveillance
  • Erect perimeter fences
  • Integrate lighting 
  • Use emergency technologies like panic buttons

If you're unsure which methods would best suit your school, conduct a site assessment. This will help you identify existing vulnerabilities. You can also use these insights to inform building security plans and to integrate future security practices. 

Additional tools and resources:

Foster a Supportive School Culture

A principal sits on a desk and talks with a group of high school students

A crucial yet overlooked element of crisis prevention is developing and maintaining a supportive school culture. A positive culture within your school can foster a safe environment for students and staff. Implement the following programs to help mitigate interpersonal conflicts and crises: 

  • Anti-bullying initiatives
  • Mental health awareness
  • Cultural sensitivity training
  • Social-emotional learning (SEL)

You want students to feel connected and supported — a sense of belonging. A supportive school culture may promote a calmer and more coordinated environment, potentially reducing the risk of social-emotional threats. 

Additional tools and resources:

Phase 3: Prepare

A crucial part of school emergency preparedness is planning for the unpreventable. For crises that cannot be prevented, preparation is your next line of defense. Within this phase, you'll develop a comprehensive, actionable crisis plan that the entire school can rely on. 

Assemble a Crisis Response Team

First, you cannot handle a crisis alone. Establish a crisis response team (CRT) with clearly defined roles and responsibilities and chain of command. This team will work together to respond to various school risk and vulnerability situations. When identifying key team members, aim to include a wide set of expertise. Diverse skillsets and responsibilities help ensure all needs are met in your school crisis management plan. Crisis teams can also connect with local authorities who can offer even wider security expertise and support. 

Examples of school-based CRT include: 

  • Team leader
  • Safety coordinator
  • Communications officer
  • Counseling lead
  • Medical coordinator
  • Logistics manager
  • Teacher representatives

Depending on your school or district, one team member may assume more than one role, or several team members may share one position's responsibilities. Regardless, each member must receive the necessary training for their role. 

Additional tools and resources:

Develop a Crisis Management Plan

A critical component of school crisis management is a comprehensive emergency operations plan (EOP). This document will describe what students, teachers and staff should do before, during and after an emergency situation. Collaborate with school- and district-based response teams to develop the EOP. A wide range of skills and expertise will ensure the plan is thorough and that it integrates with community and regional plans. 

A comprehensive school crisis management plan consists of several essential components: 

  • Risk assessment
  • Crisis management team
  • Crisis response protocols
  • Emergency drills, trainings and simulations
  • Evacuation routes
  • Lockdown procedures
  • Communication trees
  • Parent reunification protocols
  • Mental health support

Additional tools and resources:

Phase 4: Perform

The fourth phase will commence when an emergency occurs — this is the “during” phase. You will need to confidently and clearly lead the school population through the crisis. Principal crisis leadership and the effective execution of the EOP is key here. 

Respond to the Emergency

Effective emergency response in schools requires swift action under pressure. As the principal, or CRT team lead, it's your responsibility to lead the school population through calm, decisive actions. How you respond can help minimize panic and ensure people's safety. A crisis response protocol or checklist can help guide you, your CRT members and your school community. This checklist can be categorized into different structured stages, such as: 

  • Initial response stage: Focuses on the immediate issues within hours of the crisis occurring. Examples include gathering information, contacting relevant parties and building closure. 
  • Secondary response stage: Focuses on responding to people's emotional needs several hours or days after the crisis occurred. Examples include writing statements and offering counselling. 
  • Evaluation and follow-up stage: Focuses on evaluating and debriefing the response after the initial and secondary response stages are done. 

Share your emergency response protocols with key stakeholders and confirm that each of them clearly understands their roles and responsibilities. 

Additional tools and resources:

Manage Crisis Communications

Communication is a critical part of managing a crisis — during and after it occurs. Amidst an emergency, it can be challenging to provide clear, accurate and timely information, especially if there's pressure from students, staff, parents and the media. Clear and compassionate guidance can help maintain order and control. To help you maintain structure in your communication strategy, remember the five C model: 

  1. Comprehend: Understand the nature and scope of the situation. 
  2. Coordinate: Have dedicated team members in your CRT for crisis communications. 
  3. Collaborate: Engage with internal and external stakeholders to gather insights and develop communication strategies. 
  4. Communicate: Use a centralized channel using clear, empathetic communication. 
  5. Confirm: Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of your communication efforts and improve as needed. 

Additional tools and resources:

Phase 5: Post-Action and Assessment

The work is not over when the crisis ends, as the final phase focuses on managing the aftermath. Here, you'll help recover your community and analyze the crisis to improve school community resilience. The goal is to help people move on and support educational continuity. 

Coordinate Recovery Support

Crises can negatively impact your school community's well-being. Students, teachers and staff can feel many different emotions, like fear, anger and sadness, after a traumatic event. It's challenging to process what's happened and navigate these emotions. That's why professional mental health support is non-negotiable. Assess your community's emotional needs and help connect them with ongoing counselling and other mental health supportive services.

A counselor has a private conversation with a student

Here is what you can do to help your school recover mentally: 

  • Provide access to school counsellors 
  • Partner with community mental health organizations
  • Train teachers to recognize mental health warning signs 
  • Host workshops for parents

Understand that some may bounce back quickly while other require extra time to process what's happened, and that's OK. Recovery isn't a race. Principals and other key staff must practice empathy and patience during this time. 

Additional tools and resources:

Re-Establish Educational Continuity

Some may find returning to class and continuing with their daily school routines difficult. However, it's critical to return to normalcy as realistically soon as possible. Doing so may help some to recover more quickly, as having a sense of routine may promote stability. Here is how you can help re-establish educational continuity in your school: 

  • Create safe learning spaces 
  • Develop reopening plans
  • Adapt academic calendar and curricula
  • Utilize organizational tools 
  • Address nonacademic needs

Additional tools and resources:

Perform a Post-Crisis Review

As the school recovers and returns to normalcy, conduct an after-action review of your crisis management plan and update it if necessary. Host debriefings with your CRT to analyze the crisis response. Try identifying and documenting the successes and failures thoroughly. You can use this document as a guide to help see where the school can improve its plan and if the first few phases need revision. Capture these lessons learned and incorporate them into your revisions and future trainings. 

Additional tools and resources:

FAQs About School Crisis Management

If you have any further questions about school crisis management, please refer to the FAQs below. 

What Is Crisis Management in Schools?

Crisis management in schools is a process of preparing for, responding to and recovering from an emergency situation. Schools can compile a comprehensive crisis management guidebook with the help of a crisis response or management team. 

What Are the 5 Ps of Crisis Management?

The five Ps of crisis management is a five-phase framework to help schools navigate a crisis. They are predict, prevent, prepare, perform and post-action assessment. 

What Are 5 Principal Duties?

Although principal duties can differ from school or district, five typical principal duties for handling crises include:

  • Compiling a crisis response plan
  • Creating a crisis management handbook
  • Managing class emergency kits
  • Developing a crisis communication strategy
  • Leading with empathy and decisiveness

Partner With Success by Design to Support Your School

A female teacher in an orange short sleeve button up shirt

In times of uncertainty, a principal's crisis leadership can make a difference in maintaining stability during a crisis. Follow the five Ps of crisis management to help your school before, during and after a crisis hits. Re-establishing educational continuity is a key, but often overlooked, part of recovery that can help give students much-needed stability. 

Get back on track after a disruption. Success by Design's student and teacher planners are practical, effective tools for the recovery phase. Our planners can be used to provide tangible academic structure and reintroduce routines. Browse our Planners with a Purpose and make them part of your school's resilience toolkit.

← Previous Post

  • SBD, Inc.