Adopted from
Guidance and Placement Section, Missouri Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education
In Partnership With
Missouri Center for Career Education
Missouri School Counselor Association
It’s a normal Monday, Winter Day; you go
to your school for regular work day and at
8:30 a.m. your Principal reports that one of
your students was shot and killed over the
week end.
What do you do?
Prepare for
final group
assignment
Define Crisis
Intervention
Identify
Critical
Incidents
Key Planning
Steps
What is a crisis?
 “A crisis is an event that is extraordinary. It
cannot be predicted…. [A] crisis is a
situation where schools could be faced with
inadequate information, not enough time,
and insufficient resources,
but in which leaders
must make one or many
crucial decisions.”

(USDOE, 2003, p. 1-5).
Missouri Comprehensive Guidance Programs:
Linking School Success with Life Success
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A school crisis/critical incident…
 Effects emotional stability and disrupts
the educational process
 Ranges in scope and intensity
 Happens anytime anywhere
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Types of Crises/Critical Incidents
 Local:
 Death
 Suicide
 Health Issues
 Accidents
 Intruders
 Acts of Violence/Crime
(within the local
community)
 Global:
 Natural Disasters
 Terrorism
 Acts of Violence
(outside of the local
community)
 Death of a Public Figure
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Mitigation/Prevention:
Services & Programs
Preparation/Readiness:
Develop Plan for Students,
Staff, Parents, Emergency
Personnel
Response: Plan into Action
Recovery:
Physical/Emotional
Support AND Reflection—
What worked? What needs
to be changed?
Mitigation/Prevention
Pre-Planning
● Mitigation/Prevention can
diffuse the likelihood of potential acts of violence by
students
 The district’s Comprehensive Guidance Program
emphasizes prevention
 Assess existing school programs & services
 Know what works and what does not work and make
needed modifications
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Preparation/Readiness
Before A Crisis/Critical Incident
 Planning for the worst-case scenario
 Training the Plan
 Exercising the Plan
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Emergency
management
plans for all
schools
Means more
effective response
Means
comprehensive &
consistent
procedures
Practice drills
identify areas in
the plan that need
more attention
Developed by representative
members of the
school/district/community
Key “Response Phase”
roles/responsibilities are
identified & assigned
Critical
Incident
Plan
Communication Needs
Identified—
Internal/External
Responsive Services
Planning
●Gather/Disseminate the Facts
●Crisis Team Implements Pre-defined Roles and
Responsibilities
●Notification of Stakeholders
●Materials/Resources Needed
●Space for Responsive Services
●Debriefing: “Day-Of” Crisis/Critical Incident
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“The act of providing help to
others, may be of significant
help to the victim as well as
the support provider”…
(American School Psychological Association)
1. Support for adults as well as students
2. Evaluation is key to having a strong
team and plan
3. Post-crisis/critical incident meeting
Review effectiveness of each phase:
Make changes as needed
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What activities can
be done with
children, after a
crisis, to help with
their recovery?
Coping
Strategies
Relaxation
Exercises
Setting
Realistic Goals
• Write letters to victims
• Journaling
• Design activity to collect $
• Deep breathing
• Muscle relaxation
• Pie Metaphor
• Develop a solution for each piece of the pie;
rather than a total solution all at once
Because of the spontaneous nature of
crisis, it can upset the balance of an
entire school, district and/or
community.
By committing the time, effort and
personnel ahead of time, schools are
ready to respond to presented needs in
the most appropriate, effective, and
comprehensive manner.
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QUESTIONS/Comments?
empower each individual be a hero in his/her own way
Adopted from Missouri Comprehensive
Guidance Programs: Linking School Success
with Life Success
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