Communications is key to crisis planning

School leaders must be prepared to communicate quickly to parents and the media in the event of a violent incident or other emergency at a school, attendees at a Saturday workshop learned.

“Thanks to ‘Generation Text,’ rumors of violence and word of an actual incident can spread in seconds and minutes, not hours,” says Kenneth S. Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services. “The ‘crisis after the crisis’—the onslaught of parents and the media—typically is as challenging, if not more so, than the actual incident or rumored threat itself.”

In the past, school officials have taken a “downplay, deny, deflect, and defend” posture, he says. “Progressive school leaders today recognize they need to get out front with communications about school safety far before an incident ever occurs.”

In preparing for a major school emergency, Trump urged school crisis teams and district leaders to:

• Be prepared for a 24 hour/seven-day-a-week news cycle.
• Have protocols in place for establishing a “joint information center” where the school’s spokesperson works side-by-side with police and other designated spokespersons to create and communicate consistent messages to the school-community about an unfolding incident.
• Train administrators, board members, and other key crisis communicators how to effectively interact with the media.

During and immediately after a major school safety incident, he advises school leaders to:

• Communicate messages that are accurate, timely, and communicated with redundancy through multiple channels, such as the media, mass parent notification systems, letters to students and staff, via the district’s web site, faculty meetings, school wide PA announcements or homeroom debriefings for students, and related mechanisms.
• Keep messages focused on what parents want to know about the safety of their children.

Trump said districts should avoid comments like, “Schools are the safest place in the community,” and “This is an isolated incident.” These sound bites are seen as an effort to protect the district’s image and show no concern or compassion for victims and their families or for school safety in general.

• Following a high-profile incident, parents what to know two things: What steps did the school district have in place to prevent an incident of crime or violence? And how well prepared was the district to manage those incidents which could not be prevented?

School leaders need to answer these questions with specific examples, not in generalities, Trump said.

Trump recommended schools hold a facilitated community meeting after major incidents to help in the recovery process. These meetings give parents an opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns; provide school and safety specialists an opportunity to put what happened into context; and serve as part of the healing process for the school community.