A crisis can occur at any time, whether or not a school's staff plans for it. This resource guide is a compilation of user-friendly examples of policies, procedures, guidelines, checklists, and forms to help Virginia schools develop and implement a systematic crisis-management plan. Chapter 1 provides an introductory overview of the essential elements of effective crisis management and an overview of the resource guide. Chapter 2 focuses on policy and leadership and examines crisis management primarily from the perspectives of local school boards, central-office administrators, and building-level administrators. The third chapter examines the crisis-response team and three levels of response--building, central office, and community--that constitute a network to support action. The development of the school-crisis-management plan is the focus of chapter 4. The fifth chapter offers strategies for communicating with the school community, parents, the community at large, and the media. Chapter 6 highlights plans for training and maintaining preparedness, and chapter 7 contains a quick guide to crisis management. Appendices contain sources for information and assistance. (Contains 25 references). (LMI)