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This resource is provided to you by Alachua County
Emergency Management. For more information,
call (352) 264-6500,
email acem@alachuacounty.us, or
visit praiseandprepare.alachuacounty.us.
Emergency
Operations
Plan Template
for Schools,
Preschools,
and Daycares
The purpose of this
document is to help you
outline the process for
how your school,
preschool, or daycare will
prepare for, respond to,
and recover from
emergencies and
disasters.
Many thanks to Georgia Emergency Management Agency for their resources, assistance, and
support in implementing this program in Alachua County.
Table of contents
Using the Template
Page 2
Plan Sections
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Signature Page
Page 4
Record of Revisions
Page 5
Purpose and Scope
Page 6
Situation and Overview
Page 7
Concept of Operations
Page 16
Direction, Control, & Coordination
Page 23
Communications
Page 26
Administration, Finance, and Logistics
Page 28
Plan Review & Maintenance
Page 29
Exercising the Plan
P age 30
Appendices
Page 32
[Insert name of house of worship] Emergency Operations Plan [Insert Year]
Page 1
Using the template
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1. Why was this Emergency Operations Plan (EOP)
Template developed?
This EOP template was created by Alachua County
Emergency Management (ACEM) to provide faith-based leaders
with a tool to begin assessing the safety of the schools, preschools, or daycares run by their
organizations and to serve as a foundation for emergency response planning.
2. Where can additional information be found about emergency planning for
educational ministries?
Alachua County Emergency Management (ACEM) is ready to assist your house of worship
in developing your educational ministry EOP. Please contact ACEM at (352) 264-6500 or
acem@alachuacounty.us for more information or visit praiseandprepare.alachuacounty.us to learn
more about preparedness.
3. How should this template be used?
This plan template was written to be customizable to fit the needs of any house of worship
that chooses to use its content. Much of the information gathered for the house of worship
emergency operations plan will be useful in creating this document. This template is designed to
help you use the information already gathered to form an EOP that is specific to your school,
preschool, or daycare. Depending on the size of your school, preschool, or daycare, this document
may be an additional appendix in your house of worship EOP or may stand alone as a separate
EOP.
The template is an all-inclusive document written to be short and concise; it is organized for
easy reference and not intended to overwhelm the individuals responsible for EOP development or
implementation. Additionally, more detailed information can be found in the appendices.
The plan developers are encouraged to add or delete information as is appropriate for their
organization. It is expected that modifications will be made to the plan, supporting forms, and
reference materials contained in the template.
Throughout the plan, there are Tips, Notes, and Suggestions for plan developers that will be
highlighted in yellow boxes (see example on page 3).
[Insert name of house of worship] Emergency Operations Plan [Insert Year]
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Example – Tips, Notes, and Suggestions: The first step to
developing an emergency operations plan for your school,
preschool, or daycare is to determine if a Facility Safety
Assessment (FSA) should be completed. Depending on the
layout and function of your campus, the FSA completed in
the house of worship EOP may encompass the needs for this
plan. If an assessment for the educational buildings has not
been completed, this will need to be the first step. The
assessment should be completed with the guidance of the
building or facilities coordinator and should include copies of
campus maps and room diagrams. The Facility Safety
Assessment and Educational Ministry Snapshot forms should
be updated at least annually and should be included as part
of the finalized emergency operations plan.
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Generally, these tips, notes, and suggestions are pointing plan developers to supporting
material in the corresponding appendices or making suggestions for plan developers to consider.
When adapting this plan to meet your specific needs, it is expected that these yellow highlighted
tips, notes, and suggestions will be deleted from the plan, unless the planning team determines they
should be kept with appropriate modifications.
In addition, there are several places throughout the plan indicating information to be filled
in, like [insert name of your house of worship]. These gray prompts are intended to prompt plan
developers to incorporate the information specific to their house of worship and to change the color
to black.
4. Where is a good place to start the Educational Ministry Emergency Operations
Planning process?
Thinking about where to begin when developing an emergency operations plan can be a
daunting task. However, if you have already completed your house of worship’s emergency
operations plan, the task of creating an EOP for your educational ministry should be much easier.
You will use the same process to develop this EOP as you did your house of worship EOP, but you
have already gathered much of the necessary information. Many of the steps and planned responses
will be the same for both EOPs.
See the “Example – Tips, Notes, and Suggestions” on this page for information about
completing a Facility Safety Assessment.
See “How to Make a House of Worship Emergency Operations Plan”, provided in the Praise
and Prepare Toolkit, for more detailed information on the planning process. This information can be
used for planning both EOPs.
[Insert name of house of worship] Emergency Operations Plan [Insert Year]
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Signature page
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The mission of [Insert name of your school, preschool, or daycare] is to [insert
mission here]. To accomplish this mission, [Insert name of your school, preschool, or
daycare] must strive to provide a safe and secure environment for all its attendees. This document provides
an overview of how we plan to address an emergency or disaster that may interrupt our [Insert name of your
school, preschool, or daycare] community.
This plan has been developed in accordance with guidance provided by:
 Alachua County Emergency Management
 [insert other entities or documents that guided your planning process]
This plan will be reviewed and updated annually by the Emergency Planning Committee.
________________________________________________
(Name of School, Preschool, or Daycare)
________________________________________________
(School, Preschool, or Daycare Leader Signature)
________________________________________________
(Emergency Planning Committee Chair Signature)
________________________________________________
(Date)
[Insert name of house of worship] Emergency Operations Plan [Insert Year]
Suggestion: This page may be
altered to include
names/signatures of all
school administrators and/or
members of the planning
team/committee. Additional
signature pages may also be
added for each annual review.
If your emergency planning
committee is different than
the one chosen for your house
of worship, including the
HOW planning committee in
this process will ensure both
facilities are working together
and are well aware of the
appropriate actions to take.
Page 4
Record of revisions
Date of Update
Section of Document
Updated
[Insert name of house of worship] Emergency Operations Plan [Insert Year]
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Changes Made
Page 5
Purpose & Scope
The purpose of this document is to outline the process for how
[Insert name of your school, preschool, or daycare] will prepare for, respond
to, and recover from emergency or disaster incidents. This document
will cover:
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 Facility Safety Assessments
 Educational Ministry Snapshots
 Potential Emergencies/Disasters
 Different Levels of Emergencies/Disasters
 Roles and Responsibilities
 Response Protocols
 Procedures for Specific Types of Emergency and Disaster Incidents
 Appendices with Additional Information
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Situational overview
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Disasters and emergencies can strike any place at any time. An emergency
or disaster could have devastating, long-lasting impacts on [Insert name of
your school, preschool, or daycare], its students, and its staff. Impacts could
include injury or loss of life; negative emotional or spiritual impact; damage or loss
of the facility; damage or loss of equipment or furnishings; or loss of personal property. To mitigate the
potential impacts on [Insert name of your school, preschool, or daycare], the [name of school, preschool, or daycare
leadership team] developed this plan as a guide for how to address disaster or emergency situations that may
impact the facility, the students, and the staff.
Assessment of Existing Operations
To develop an efficient and effective emergency response plan, [name of school, preschool, or daycare leadership
team] began by:
[Explain your process – did you review the existing Facility Safety Assessment or did you need to create one specifically
for the educational buildings? Regardless of which was required for your organization, include the completed Facility
Safety Assessment in your appendix. A sample Facility Safety Assessment is included in Figure 1.0.]
[Explain your use of the Educational Ministry Snapshot (Figure 2.0). This document should be used to provide an
overview of your educational ministry and its regular participants – students, teachers, staff, etc.]
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Figure 1.0: Facility Safety Assessment
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The Facility Safety Assessment, available in the Praise & Prepare
Toolkit, provides a thorough understanding of the facility’s strengths and
weaknesses.
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Figure 2.0: Educational Ministry Snapshot
The Educational Ministry Snapshot, also provided in the Praise and
Prepare Toolkit, gives the opportunity to accurately account for all
students, teachers, and staff.
[Insert name of house of worship] Emergency Operations Plan [Insert Year]
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Special Needs Populations
Each school, preschool, and daycare has a unique and diverse make-up.
Some students may need more assistance during an emergency or disaster
than others. Knowing who might be in this category before an event can save
time and protect lives during an event. Some things to consider:
 What students, teachers, or staff are present in your house of worship that may require additional
assistance during an emergency? (Examples include: wheelchair bound or other mobility
limitations, those with functional needs, hard of
Note: Alachua County Emergency
hearing, deaf, etc.)
Management has a variety of methods
 What accommodations need to be made by your
for communicating with and assisting
organization to better assist these individuals when
special needs populations. Please
they are on campus? (wheelchair accommodations,
encourage the parents of your special
needs students to sign their children up
sign language interpreter, etc.)
Special needs in the [Name of your school, preschool, or daycare
leadership team] consist of:
[list special needs populations in your organization – this could
include specific disabilities as well as other known health conditions,
allergies, etc.].
for the Special Needs Registry
(specialneeds.alachuacounty.us), if they
are eligible. More information can be
found at: beinformed.alachuacounty.us
The special needs plan for the [Name of your school, preschool, or daycare leadership team] is as follows:
[list specific actions to be taken in day-to-day and large-scale emergencies to accommodate special needs individuals in
your organization – designated office staff to assist teachers with special needs students to evacuate their classrooms,
individuals designated to assist wheelchair bound students through accessible exits during an evacuation, etc.]
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Threats and Hazards assessment
After assessing facility safety and reviewing the educational
ministry snapshot, the [Name of your school, preschool, or daycare leadership
team] completed the situational overview by reviewing the threats and
hazards determined by the [Name of house of worship leadership
team].
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[Each of the forms required for the threats and hazards assessments are included below. The threats and hazards will
likely be the same for your organization as for the house of worship. Another assessment may be completed if other
threats or hazards are present only for your school, preschool, or daycare. However, if no additional threats or hazards
are present, insert the house of worship’s assessments here. If an assessment is required for your school, see the House of
Worship Emergency Operations Plan Template for details on Threat and Hazards planning and assessment.]
Table 1.0: Potential Threats and Hazards
Day-to-Day
Disturbances
Most likely to
happen during
regular operating
hours (i.e. Sunday
Services, weekly
office hours)
 Fires
 Internal Power
Outages
 Unintentional
Equipment
Failure
 Congregant
Health
Challenges
 Unintentional
Emergencies that
suddenly make
the facility
uninhabitable
Natural
Technological
Resulting from acts of Involves accidents or
nature
the failure of systems
and structures










Flooding
Severe weather
Thunderstorms
Severe winter
weather
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
Wildfires
Wind
Sinkholes
Droughts
 Hazardous
Materials Release
 Utilities Failure
 Transportation
Incidents
 Structural
Collapse
 Radiological
Release
 Explosion or
accidental releases
from industrial
plants
[Insert name of house of worship] Emergency Operations Plan [Insert Year]
Human-Caused
Caused by the
intentional actions
of an adversary
 Missing Child
(kidnapping)
 Domestic
Violence
 Organized
Terrorism
Attack
 Civil
Disturbance
 Cyber Attack
 Active Shooter
 Chemical Agent
Attack
 Biological
Attack
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Table 2.0: Specific Threats and Hazards
[Insert name of house of worship] Emergency Operations Plan [Insert Year]
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Asset assessment
[The asset assessment may have been completed in the House of Worship
Emergency Operations Plan or it may need to be completed specifically for your
educational ministry. This section outlines the steps in the event an asset assessment
needs to be completed. If the assessment was completed by the house of worship
planning team, insert the assets related to the educational ministry in this section.]
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The [Name of your school, preschool, or daycare leadership team] also completed an asset review to determine
what assets are available within the school, preschool, or daycare to prepare for, respond to, and recover
from an emergency or disaster situation. This includes physical and financial assets (Tables 3.0). This
review also considers assets that would need to be protected or removed from the facility in an emergency
situation (Table 4.0).
[Figure 3.0 does not apply to schools, preschools, and daycares and has been removed from this template.]
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Table 3.0: Response/Recovery Assets
This table can be used to identify assets that could be used in the
response and recovery of [Name of your school, preschool, or daycare ]
following a disaster or emergency.
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Table 4.0: Response/Recovery Assets
This table can be used to identify assets that would need to be
relocated and/or protected in the event of an impending disaster or
emergency (student records, financial records, insurance
documents, etc.)
[Insert name of house of worship] Emergency Operations Plan [Insert Year]
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Concept of Operations
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Once the [Name of your school, preschool, or daycare leadership team]
finished the situational overview, the next step was to outline operational
procedures. The [Name of your school, preschool, or daycare leadership team]
began developing the operations protocol by breaking down the
responsibility of each participant in the emergency response process and
outlining response protocols. This section of the plan covers roles and responsibilities, response protocols
and plan activation.
Roles and Responsibilities
Tip: Several people are usually involved in emergency
preparedness as well as the execution of an emergency
operations plan. A well thought out and rehearsed
disaster plan is an excellent starting point for raising
the consciousness of the students, parents, and staff
about the reality of life-threatening hazards, while also
training them on lifesaving techniques.
Identification of roles and responsibilities proved
to be a critical step in plan development for the
[Name of your school, preschool, or daycare leadership
team]. This section will cover the different team and individual roles of the various participants on the
[school, preschool, or daycare emergency planning team]. It will cover all applicable responsibilities, including:
[insert roles-school, preschool, or daycare leadership team, office staff (paid or volunteer), teachers, teaching assistants,
the emergency management team lead (the incident coordinator), the medical response liaison(or team), the crisis
counseling liaison (or team), the media liaison (or team), parent liaison(or team), the finance liaison (or team), and/or
the building/facility coordinator].
The [school, preschool, or daycare leadership team]
recognizes that roles and responsibilities will be
based on the scale of the emergency or disaster.
A smaller, more internalized emergency will
most likely be handled by the leadership team
and the regular staff members (paid or
volunteer), while a larger event necessitating the
need for coordination with external stakeholders
will most likely require the emergency
management team lead to coordinate response
efforts.
Tip: The Roles and Responsibilities portion of this plan
will be greatly affected by the size of your institution.
This template is designed to cover several possible
roles and their responsibilities. However, the template
is meant to be modified for your institution. Read
through the listed roles and responsibilities to
determine which would be priorities for your
organization. Determine which responsibilities need to
be covered and assign them to the roles/positions
existing within your organization.
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Educational Ministry Leadership Team
The Educational Ministry Leadership Team consists of [name or position
of head of the establishment] as well as the designated leaders of [insert
name of school, preschool, or daycare]. These leaders include: [list out
leadership positions/titles identified-principal, vice principal, school director, etc.].
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[Name of head of the establishment] has designated [insert position name or person]
to act as the on-site emergency coordinator. The [school, preschool, or daycare leadership team] is responsible
for:
 Training a small group of staff and/or educational ministry leaders in basic emergency
action.
 Creating a roster and schedule of regular activities and taking rosters with them if an
evacuation is required [These rosters and schedules should include when classes or students are outside
of their regular classroom for extracurricular activities – ex. Art class, recess, lunch, etc.]
 Keeping parents and response agencies informed of emergency plans and revisions.
 Assigning roles of the emergency management team.
 Utilizing present communication capabilities and integrating future capabilities into the
emergency plan.
 Identifying a specific evacuation meeting location on campus and off campus for students and
visitors required to leave the building.
 Executing periodic safety checks.
 Designating a staff member to notify family members of the injured or to work with
emergency personnel to notify family members when necessary.
 Designating someone to assist with identifying the injured and deceased.
 Designating sufficient personnel to handle phones.
 Developing a strategy for post-crisis orientation for staff and student body, where
appropriate. The post-crisis orientation will allow staff and students to debrief and get an
understanding of what occurred with the event.
 Having a roster with the names of students and teachers who are off campus at [insert name of
school, preschool, or daycare] related activities.
 Convening the emergency management team.
 Reviewing plans for on-campus and off-campus emergencies.
 Making notifications to the community about cancellation and re-start of classes.
 Conducting drills and making emergency operations plan revisions based on drills.
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Staff
The staff at [insert name of school, preschool, or daycare] consists of: [list
different staff positions – paid staff, volunteers, volunteer coordinators, office
administrators, etc.]
Note: Staff is identified as anyone who executes duties for the
educational ministry regularly regarding the administration of the
educational ministry, whether they are paid or volunteer.
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Staff participation during a day-to-day emergency response will be coordinated through the [school,
preschool, or daycare leadership team]. Staff will be responsible for:
 Participating in the development of the EOP and being familiar with all aspects of the plan.
 Executing duties as outlined in the EOP.
Tip: Educational ministry
 Keeping the emergency management team lead informed of
leadership teams should consider
day-to-day emergency incidents.
identifying individuals who can
 Being familiar with all avenues of exit in each building.
serve as back-up team members
 Securing their classroom or office before exiting the building. to support emergency efforts.
 Accounting for all students under their supervision during the crisis.
 Reporting to the [school, preschool, or daycare leadership team] any missing or injured students or
teachers.
 Following a prearranged plan of transportation and supervision to appropriate shelters.
 Teaching emergency/disaster awareness and preparedness by incorporating these materials into
existing curriculum.
Teachers and Teaching Assistants
Teachers and teaching assistants consist of: [List teachers by grade level. Be sure to include extracurricular teachers
and teaching aids, such as music teachers, art teachers, PE teachers, etc.]
Teachers and teaching assistants are the main line of protection for students under their care. Therefore
their main responsibilities are to student well-being as well as their own personal well-being. These
responsibilities include:
 Participating in EOP development and review to ensure all aspects of classroom management
during emergencies are discussed.
 Evacuating classrooms and students when required by emergency situations.
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 Maintaining an easy to access roster of classroom attendance. The
teacher should take this with him/her in the event of an
evacuation.
 Incorporating preparation material into regular classroom
curriculum.
 Inviting parents to participate in classroom or school-wide
exercises or drills.
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Emergency Management Team
In addition to the educational ministry leadership team, the staff
designated to support the leadership team, and the teachers and
teaching assistants, [school, preschool, or daycare leadership team] has also
developed an emergency management team. This consists of specific
positions activated during an emergency response effort that warrants
additional coordination and is beyond the capacity of the educational
ministry leadership team and the support staff. The [insert name of
school, preschool, or daycare] emergency management team consists of
the following positions:
[insert position titles- emergency management team lead/incident coordinator,
the building coordinator, the medical response liaison, the crisis counseling
liaison, the media liaison, the parent liaison, and the finance liaison].
Tip: Depending on the size of
your school and number of staff,
this section may be significantly
reduced. It may also overlap
with your house of worship’s
EOP. If this section, or any
section of this plan, is covered
by your house of worship’s EOP,
it may be referenced in this
plan. If large portions of this
EOP are covered by the house of
worship EOP, consider making
this an appendix in your house
of worship EOP rather than a
separate plan.
When activated, the emergency management team responsibilities
include:
Emergency Management Team Lead (Incident Coordinator)
 Serves as Incident Coordinator
 Briefs [school, preschool, or daycare leadership team] on incident specifics and response
operations.
 Immediately identifies themselves as the emergency management team lead to the
appropriate public safety personnel responding to the incident.
 Remains in close proximity to the incident location (at the facility or as close as possible).
 Coordinates the emergency response effort.
 Ensures that necessary notifications are made.
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 Acts as a liaison between the [insert name of school, preschool,
or daycare] and public safety personnel.
 Coordinates with all response participants including local
fire, police, medical response personnel, etc.
 Ensures that all team members are assigned duties and
understand all emergency procedures.
 Works with emergency response team members to evaluate
the emergency.
 Ensures proper emergency communication.
 Delegates needed emergency actions.
 Is prepared to assist emergency responders in crowd control and building evacuation, if
requested.
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Building Coordinator (Facility Coordinator) [This position will likely be filled by the same individual as the
house of worship building/facility coordinator.]
 Is familiar with the floor plans of each building and the emergency evacuation procedures for
any emergency – medical, fire, tornado, etc.
 Provides status reports and briefings to the emergency management team lead.
 Coordinates with the emergency management team lead and the local emergency
agency/agencies on evacuations and other emergency actions.
 Serves as a lead on emergency planning activities and works closely with the emergency
management team lead on emergency response coordination.
 Assists with recruiting emergency management team members.
 Schedules trainings for the emergency management team.
 Communicates ongoing and evolving emergency response plans.
Medical Response Liaison [This position will likely be filled by the school nurse, if such a position exists in your
organization.]
 Provides emergency first aid and assistance, according to their training, until medical
assistance arrives.
 Immediately identifies themselves as the medical response liaison to any personnel
responding to the incident.
 Assists in triage activities.
 Conducts a primary assessment of the medical emergencies and reports this assessment to
appropriate personnel.
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Safety Response Liaison (or team) [For smaller schools and houses of
worship, this position could be filled by the same individual as the house
of worship safety response liaison. For larger schools and houses of
worship, a separate person may need to fill the position.]
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 Evacuates assigned building or section and is responsible
for reporting to the incident coordinator that their
assigned section has been cleared during an evacuation.
 Immediately identifies themselves as the safety response liaison to any personnel responding
to the incident.
 Helps to implement and announce lock down procedures in their assigned section(s).
 Performs other intervention procedures as the situation dictates
 Works in coordination with the building maintenance to minimize hazards.
 Maintains hand-held radios to coordinate with emergency management team lead and other
team members, if available and as appropriate.
Crisis Counseling Liaison [This position will likely be filled by the school guidance counselor, if such a position
exists in your organization.]




Assesses the need for onsite mental health support.
Determines if there is a need for outside agency assistance.
Provides onsite intervention/counseling, according to their training and qualifications.
Manages the well-being of those from the [school, preschool, or daycare] that are responding to
the incident, students, and staff, and reports it to the [insert name of head of the establishment].
Media Liaison [This position will likely be filled by a school official or leader.]
 Works with the [insert school, preschool, or daycare leadership team name] to develop strategies
for addressing media inquiries.
 Meets the media and communicates a consistent message to be delivered to the community.
 Coordinates and advises on the preparation of news statement and arranges interviews.
Parent Liaison
 Serves as a liaison between parents and the [insert name of the school, daycare, or preschool
leadership team]
 Coordinates response to parents who may arrive at the educational ministry with inquiries
about the incident and the well-being of the children involved.
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 Advises parents of the situation and advises them if
their child was involved in the emergency.
 Assists those who wish to take their child home after the
emergency has been cleared.
Finance Liaison
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 Tracks resources that may be needed to help the house of
worship and/or congregants respond to and recover from the
event.
 Tracks the source (who or where the resource came from) and the use of resources (who
used/is planning to use the resources).
 Works with the house of worship to determine expenses and needs for response and
recovery, when the house of worship and the educational ministry operate under different
financing and/or budgets. [When these function under the same department, this person will be the
same as the house of worship finance liaison.]
 Maintains record keeping for possible reimbursement by insurance agencies or government
entities.
Response protocols
This section outlines [insert name of school, preschool, or daycare] specific emergency response protocols
including: [insert applicable response protocols for your school, preschool, or daycare- closings, emergency procedures,
evacuation protocol, family reunification protocol, media protocol, communication equipment protocol, etc. Refer to
your house of worship’s “Response Protocols” section, as many of these will likely be the same.].
Closings
[Insert school, preschool, or daycare closing procedures and methods for
communicating these closings to the students, parents, and teachers.
Include who will make this decision.]
Emergency Procedures
Tip: Determine what method of
communication is best suited for your
school, preschool, or daycare to inform
your students and teachers of closing.
This may be a phone tree, hotline
telephone message, text messages,
social media, email, etc., or a
combination of methods.
Emergency procedures explain how the [insert name of school,
preschool, or daycare] will respond during [insert applicable emergency procedures -normal operations, operations
during impending severe weather, operations during a heightened state of security requiring preventative lockdown,
[Insert name of house of worship] Emergency Operations Plan [Insert Year]
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operations during a heightened state of security that requires evacuations,
operations during a crisis response protocol, and procedures for returning to
normal operations, etc.].
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The [school, preschool, or daycare leadership team] will be the main
authority to initiate building lockdown or evacuations. The [school,
preschool, or daycare leadership team] will designate several key personnel
who are authorized to make such decisions. All designees will be made
aware of their responsibility and the scope of their authority to act. This
section outlines procedures to be performed by the designated individuals when
deemed appropriate. Designated individuals will be relieved of such responsibility upon the arrival of the
[school, preschool, or daycare leadership team] or local emergency responders.
[Refer to the house of worship EOP for guidance on this section. It is very likely that this section
will match the house of worship’s response protocols. Use each protocol specific section to identify
what protocol steps may be different or in addition to the house of worship’s responses. Also be sure
to list who is responsible for each step that might vary from or be in addition to the house of
worship’s EOP.]
Direction, control, and
Coordination
This section describes the framework for all direction,
control, and coordination activities. It explains who
provides overall direction, control, and coordination of
an incident and which staff are responsible for supporting
the [school, preschool, or daycare leadership team]. This
section describes the chain of command used by [insert
name of school, preschool, or daycare] for:
1. Day-to-day operations
2. Large-scale emergencies
Note: Figures 4.0 and 5.0 provide examples of
different organizational structures that can be
used in response to various emergency incidents.
Figure 4.0 is an example of a structure for the
type of emergencies that may occur on a normal
day within an educational setting. Figure 5.0 is an
example of an organizational structure that could
be used for larger emergency responses. Adjust
these structures for your educational ministry
based on the roles and responsibilities deemed
appropriate for your organization in the Concept
of Operations section of your plan.
[Insert name of house of worship] Emergency Operations Plan [Insert Year]
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Figure 4.0: Day-to-Day Operations Emergency Coordination
Structure
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School Director/
Head of House of
Worship
School Principal/
Leadership Team
Building/Facility
Coordinator
Staff
Safety Response
Liaison
[Insert name of house of worship] Emergency Operations Plan [Insert Year]
Teachers and
Teaching
Assistants
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Figure 5.0: Large-Scale Emergency Coordination Structure
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Head of House of
Worship
School Principal/
Leadership Team
Emergency
Management Team
Lead/Incident
Coordinator
Crisis Counseling
Liaison
Media Liaison
Teachers and
Teaching Assitants
Building/Facility
Coordinator
Safety Response
Liaison
Medical Response
Liaison
Parent Liaison
[Insert name of house of worship] Emergency Operations Plan [Insert Year]
Finance Liaison
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communications
After establishing operational procedures and determining the flow of
direction, control, and coordination, the [school, preschool, or daycare
leadership team] also reviewed methods of communication.
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Information Collection and Dissemination
[This section will likely be similar to the house of worship’s Information Collection and Dissemination sections. Please
review the house of worship EOP. Use this section to note any changes that would be implemented in the educational
ministry plan to collect and disseminate information.]
Contact with Students or Staff
When direct and prompt communications with students and staff is necessary, the [school, preschool, or
daycare leadership team] will initiate the established chain of communication for general notification. Figure
6.0 should be used to create an emergency phone tree. A physical copy of student and staff contact
information can be found [state location of contact information – with insurance, student records, and other
important documents; in appendix of this plan; etc.].
The following protocol should be followed for sharing information via the emergency phone tree. Phone
tree leaders should be aware of this protocol in order for clear and accurate information to be
disseminated:
1. The person at the top will start the notification process. It may be helpful to have a brief script
prepared with space available for event specific information.
2. Ask the contacted person to write down the specific information rather than conveying the
information from memory.
3. Give facts about the event.
4. Be sure to have alternative phone numbers in order to reach someone who is out of the home
or office.
5. If no one answers, leave a message and try using the alternate method of contact. If contact is
still not made, contact the rest of your list, as well as those assigned to the person who did not
answer. This should ensure that everyone gets the information in a timely fashion.
6. Confirm that each person will make contact with the next person(s) on the chart.
[Insert name of house of worship] Emergency Operations Plan [Insert Year]
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7. Prearrange with individuals at the end of the list to contact
the person at the top once they receive the message. The
LAST person on the notification chart should CONTACT
THE FIRST person to ensure that the chart is completed
and that the message was accurate.
Figure 6.0: Emergency Phone Tree
This figure should be used to create an emergency phone tree for
your educational ministry. Separate phone trees can be created for
contact with parents, contact with staff, etc., based on the needs of your
organization.
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Phone Tree Leader:
Phone:
Name:
Phone:
Name:
Phone:
Name:
Phone:
Name:
Phone:
Name:
Phone:
Name:
Phone:
Name:
Phone:
Name:
Phone:
Name:
Phone:
Name:
Phone:
Name:
Phone:
Name:
Phone:
Name:
Phone:
Name:
Phone:
[Insert name of house of worship] Emergency Operations Plan [Insert Year]
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Administration, Finance,
And logistics
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In the event of an emergency or disaster incident at [name of school,
preschool, or daycare], the [school, preschool, or daycare leadership team] will be
responsible for identifying additional resources to meet the needs. This section covers general support
requirements and the availability of services and support for all types of incidents, as well as general
policies for managing resources. This section also identifies and references policies and procedures that
exist outside of this plan.
[The presence of this section in your school, preschool, or
daycare EOP is dependent on if your organization’s
finances are separate from that of the house of worship.
This section should be detailed if your organization is
under a different budget or financial system. If it is the
same system, however, this section can be reduced, only
listing differences between the two plans, or eliminated.
If it is reduced or eliminated, the house of worship EOP
should be referenced as the main source of information
for this section.]
Tips: This list is a general overview of
suggested records to be maintained in
the event of a disaster or emergency. Be
sure to include any specific methods for
handling administration, finance, and
logistics used by your organization. For
detailed plans, consider creating
separate appendices and referencing
each in this section. Expenditure forms
and other forms of documentation can
be created and included in the
appendices as well.
This section outlines each action regarding the administration and management of an emergency or disaster
at [insert name of school, preschool, or daycare]:
 The [finance liaison] will be the individual in charge of administrative responsibilities and
requirements that will be used to provide accountability for finances and resources that are used.
 The [insert name of school, preschool, or daycare] will use [indicate method for tracking key activities, i.e.
word, excel, a scanner, etc.] as the method by which accurate logs of key activities will be maintained.
(Examples of activities to be recorded include when a lockdown, evacuation, or reunification
protocol goes into effect; when a message goes out to the community about the event that
occurred; when the last child is picked up from the reunification site; etc.)
 [Insert name of school, preschool, or daycare] will use [indicate method for maintaining vital records, i.e.
database, QuickBooks access, hard copies stored in predetermined location etc.] as the method for
maintaining vital records.
[Insert name of house of worship] Emergency Operations Plan [Insert Year]
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 [Insert name of school, preschool, or daycare] will use the following
sources [insert type of sources here, i.e. insurance, emergency fund,
etc.] for replacement of assets.
 [Insert name of school, preschool, or daycare] will use the following
methods for keeping financial records: tracking resource needs;
tracking the source and use of resources; acquiring ownership of
resources; etc.
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Plan review and Maintenance
The [Insert name of school, preschool, or daycare leadership team] shall
approve this plan and review the Facility Safety Assessment, the
Educational Ministry Snapshot,the Asset Assessment, and this
emergency plan [insert how often: quarterly, annually, etc] and
present for formal approval to the [head of the establishment].
Before formal approval is given, this plan shall be shared with
[insert other key leaders or figures that should review the EOP, i.e. key
team members, stakeholders, teachers, etc.] for review.
The [Insert name of school, preschool, or daycare leadership team] shall
submit the plan for review to outside entities. These include:
[list other entities that will review the plan – local emergency
management coordinator, denominational association, etc.]
[Insert name of house of worship] Emergency Operations Plan [Insert Year]
Suggestion: You may want to include a
list of which members or committees
should review the various sections of this
plan. While the leadership team, head of
establishment, and emergency
management team should review all
portions of this document, others may
need only to review certain portions in
order to add input. Example: The finance
committee should be involved in the
review of the finance section and the
finance liaison responsibilities, but would
not necessarily need to review the entire
document.
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Exercising the plan
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The [Insert name of school, preschool, or daycare leadership team] will practice
this plan [insert how frequently the plan will be exercised: quarterly, annually,
every two years] to ensure all stakeholders are aware of the plan and understand
their role. The [Insert name of school, preschool, or daycare leadership team] may choose from several different
types of exercises to practice the emergency operations plan. Below are descriptions of the different types
of exercises the [Insert name of school, preschool, or daycare leadership team] may choose to conduct:
 Tabletop exercises are small group discussions that walk
Tip: These exercises may be
through a scenario and the courses of action a house of
encompassed by the house of
worship will need to take before, during, and after an
worship’s EOP. Regular drills
incident. This activity helps assess the plan and resources and with students and teachers are
important and should be
facilitates an understanding of emergency management and
exercised regularly.
planning concepts.
 Drills involve testing one aspect of the plan. Examples of drills include: practicing an evacuations,
implementing a lockdown protocol, or sending a test message through the phone tree.
 In functional exercises, leaders and participants react to a realistic, simulated events (ex: a
bomb threat or an intruder with a gun), and implement the plan. However, this does not include
outside entities.
 Full-scale exercises are the most time-consuming activity in the exercise continuum and are
multiagency efforts in which resources are deployed. This type of exercise tests collaboration
among the agencies and participants, public information systems, communications systems, and
equipment. An emergency operations center is established (usually by the local emergency
management agency) and the Incident Command System is activated.
[Insert name of school, preschool, or daycare] will make a decision about
how many and which types of exercises to conduct after
consideration of the costs and benefits. [Insert name of school,
preschool, or daycare] will also consider having representative(s)
participate in larger community exercises to ensure that efforts are
synchronized with the entire community’s efforts.
[Insert name of house of worship] Emergency Operations Plan [Insert Year]
Tip: Exercise plans should be
progressive. Start with an
orientation to the EOP, move to
a tabletop exercise, then to
drills, etc. Lessons learned from
each exercise should be
incorporated into the plan
before the next exercise.
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The [Insert name of school, preschool, or daycare leadership team] will take the
following steps to conduct the exercises effectively:
 Include local emergency management officials and community
partners
 Communicate information in advance to avoid confusion and
concern
 Exercise under different and non-ideal conditions (ex: time of
day, inclement weather, etc.)
 Debrief and develop an after-action report that evaluates results, identifies gaps or shortfalls, and
documents lessons learned
 Discuss how the plan and procedures will be modified, when necessary, and specify who has the
responsibility for modifying the plan.
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[Insert name of house of worship] Emergency Operations Plan [Insert Year]
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Appendices
[Appendices should only be created if this educational ministry EOP is a separate
document. If this is an appendix to a house of worship EOP, the house of
worship’s appendices will also apply to the educational ministry information.]
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[Include appendices as appropriate for your school, preschool, or daycare. The following are potential appendices to
develop and include. Templates for Appendices A-C have been created as part of the house of worship EOP. They are
likely the same procedures that will be used by your education ministry, but can be modified to fit your needs.
Informational appendices that include results from the Facility Safety Assessment, Educational Ministry Snapshot, etc.,
should be included if this is a separate EOP document and should contain the original assessments and reports. Other
appendices should be developed based on your school, preschool, or daycare needs.]
Sample Appendices
 Appendix A: Natural Disasters
 Appendix B: Human-caused Disasters
 Appendix C: Accidents
Other Potential Appendices
 Facility Safety Assessment
 Educational Ministry Snapshot
 Special Needs Population List
 Completed Asset Assessment
 Drill Checklist
 Bomb Threat Checklist
 Transportation & Trips
 Day-to-Day Operations Emergency Operations Coordination
 Example Large-Scale Emergency Coordination
 Fire Exit Routes & Evacuation Assembly Areas
 Emergency & Medical Equipment Location Plan
 Communications Plan
 Membership Care Plan
 Awareness, Education, and Training Plan
 Exercise and Drill Plan
[Insert name of house of worship] Emergency Operations Plan [Insert Year]
Tip: The Facility Safety
Assessment, Educational
Ministry Snapshot, Special
Needs Population List, and
Asset Assessment will likely be
completed during the planning
process. Results from these
planning steps should be
included in an informational
appendix.
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