Follow board policies and procedures on crisis communication. Review school level communication protocols with staff.
What is a crisis?
- Sudden situation requiring action without delay
- State of danger or anxious waiting
- Anything that can negatively affect your reputation or credibility
- Traumatic event producing shock and grief
Examples of crisis situations
- Picket at your school
- School council wants to have you replaced
- Mould in gym
- Bacteria in water
- Teacher charged with sexual abuse
- Lost student
- Plant failure (flood, power outage, loss of heating/cooling system)
- Student injury in class
- Death or suicide of student or staff
- Tragic news event (e.g. September 11, 2001)
- Death of a well-known community member
Communication
Before a crisis situation
- Know and understand board policies
- Update staff on board protocols
- Develop contact with emergency personnel
- Develop contacts with media
- Develop communications plan
- Develop media kit
- Know the grief and funeral customs of your school's ethnic groups
- Develop a staff emergency telephone tree list for off hour crisis situations
- File samples of
- community letters to parents
- letters of condolence
- news releases
During a crisis situation
- Call board office
- Respond to reporters by following your board's media relations protocol
- Draft stand-by statements
- Keep students/staff up-to-date
- Respond to media
- Communicate with key contacts
- Designate a person to
- talk to the family
- follow up facts surrounding the event
- follow up funeral arrangements and family wishes
- Get all bad news out
- Call district school board communications department
- Call supervisory officer
- Contact Crisis Response Team
- Arrange support for students and staff
- Contact other schools that may be affected
- If police investigation, determine what can be shared officially
- Notify police, ambulance and the victim's parents (if appropriate)
- Clarify the basic facts around the event
- Clarify what information the family wants to share
- Keep notes
- Understand your role
- Be visible
- Deal with the media
After a crisis situation
- Communicate with school community
- Conduct follow-up meeting
- Debrief to review situation
- Revise protocols and procedures as necessary
Parents and media
- Separate the two groups
- Identify meeting place in school
- Give them supports for their job
- Make statement then answer questions
What media wants
- Quick response
- Availability
- Answers
- Honesty and openness
- Responsible action
- Apology
Summary
- Prepare in advance
- Respond as quickly as possible
- Ensure safety of school community
- Communicate
- Manage situation
- Manage public and media scrutiny
- Contact OPC for assistance if board does not have a communications officer