Outlines a sample contract that a district might want to use if its buses are required for emergency use by local government. The contract addresses such areas as who drives, whether regular school bus regulations are observed, who pays for the fuel, and what the costs are to the user. (IRT)

Discusses preparing an educational facility to address the threat of biological or chemical terrorism, including understanding the potential impact, implementing information and communication systems, and improving medical surveillance and awareness. (EV)

Despite their best and frequently heroic efforts, school crisis intervention teams often find themselves unprepared for the many types of tragedies they face. This timely text prompts crisis intervention team members to reevaluate their beliefs and practices and consider a new approach to dealing with school crises. The author, a longtime school…

A pandemic is a global disease outbreak. A flu pandemic occurs when a new influenza virus emerges that people have little or no immunity to and for which there may be no vaccine. The disease spreads easily person-to-person and causes serious illness. It can sweep across the country and around the world very quickly. It is hard to predict when the…

Noting that the most assistance adults can provide to a child during a disaster is to be calm, honest, and caring, this brochure provides suggestions for helping children cope with natural and other disasters. The brochure details how children's typical reactions vary with their age, describes how families can prepare for disasters, and suggests…

Although American schools have not been targeted for terrorist activity, circumstances do warrant that schools adopt a heightened state of awareness. This guide addresses the potential for terrorist activity within the context of September 11, 2001, and the new reality America faces. A significant portion of the information in this guide was…

Uses the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear plant accident to illustrate the communication problems embedded in a crisis. Describes the reactions created by the stress related to crisis. Suggests business communication strategies for improving communication to the public. (SR)

When crisis strikes, internal audiences at institutions of higher education need accurate information which depends on groundwork laid during good times. Key principles for emergency communication include predicting disasters by reading internal warning signs; preventing a potential crisis from growing; and preparing for smooth communications…

This preparedness guide explains and describes tornadoes, and includes safety information for schools. A tornado is defined as a violently rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground. The guide explains the cause of tornadoes, provides diagrams of how they form, describes variations of tornadoes, and classifies tornadoes by…

This manual presents, in illustrated form, the protective measures needed to save educational buildings from the effects of earthquakes. The information may be used at the community level as a guide to the construction of earthquake resistant educational buildings. Primarily, the manual deals with the construction techniques used for school…

Arguing that complete, reliable, up-to-date system documentation is critical for every data processing environment, this paper on computer disaster recovery planning begins by discussing the importance of such documentation both for recovering from a systems crash, and for system maintenance and enhancement. The various components of system…

To assist Florida school administrators in establishing comprehensive energy management programs in their school districts, this handbook presents a systematic, integrated approach. The first chapter outlines the steps that school districts must take to initiate an energy management program, including establishing a committee and a coordinator for…

The School Safety Review Checklist is an important component of the broader school crisis resources that have been developed by the Vermont School Crisis Planning Team. The Team is comprised of members from the law enforcement, emergency management, health, and education organizations who have worked throughout the year to update school and…

This book analyzes educators' reactions to the floods that destroyed the towns of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks in South Dakota. It is based on a planning grant that had four primary goals: (1) create a curriculum to help students understand their flood experience; (2) perform a child-observation study; (3) script and possibly produce a…

This guide offers strategies for creating a proactive school safety plan that encourages parents, teachers, principals, and students to take the initiative and identify threats to school safety. It emphasizes that schools must have an active plan that addresses fights, name calling, bullying, changes in kid's behaviors, and staff who have run out…