Becky Rasmussen
Crisis Communication Plan
EDAD 580
Investigation:
I am in the second year of being a principal at XYZ elementary school. It is May 23rd and a severe
storm has hit the area where there was a tornado warning issued for Linn County and the sirens were
going off. The time of the tornado warning was at 1:15 and was scheduled to be done by 1:45. In the
meantime, the teachers followed the severe weather protocol in which the staff directed the students
where to go in order to best protect themselves from the storm. The students and staff stayed in their
designated areas until the all clear at 1:45. When the all clear was given, the students and staff went
back into their classrooms to resume where they left off. By 2:10, the warning sirens were going off
again much to the surprise to everyone as the skies were clear. When listening to the Emergency
Management System’s announcement, it indicated that there was a nuclear threat to the area. The
news has indicated that the Duane Arnold Nuclear Power Plant in Palo, Iowa has been compromised due
to a suspected tornado hitting the facility. The phones are ringing off the hook with concerned parents
wanting to know what to do, if their children were going to be staying at the school or if they could pick
their students up from class. The staff is confused at what to do and how to protect the students.
Reflection:
I have to address how I feel at the moment as everyone is looking to me as what to do and I will
have to make sure that I stay calm. I have never reviewed the procedure of evacuation for a nuclear
threat in the area and am wondering what to do myself. I also have to consider the feelings of the staff
who have also not seen an evacuation plan in case of a nuclear emergency. The students themselves
will feel scared and confused as they are not sure what is going on. The parents of the students who are
at school may feel helpless and also confused as to what to do in this situation as many of them do not
know what to do. The community of Cedar Rapids may be in a panic to evacuate and the highways may
be congested due to the evacuation procedures. I wonder how the parents are being notified as to what
to do and where to go if they have students at school, which will be most parents in the city. How am I
going to communicate effectively what to do with the staff and parents as both will need to be
addressed as soon as I can articulate a plan to them and who will inform me of what to do? I will have
to assign roles to the other staff not with students such as the secretary, facilitator, counselor, title staff,
custodial staff, instructional coach, nurse secretary, and nurse. I have to be sensitive that many of the
staff that I have, have their own children and families that they are thinking of and may have to let them
have some time to figure out what their children and spouses are doing.
Leverage:
The media will be a big role in how to communicate to parents what to do and what the district
is going to do with their students. The media will also play a big role to the community as to how they
are to evacuate as well. What does board policy say about what staff are to do regarding the welfare of
students and their role in doing so. I will need to consult with the Linn Area Emergency Management
Systems evacuation plan as it will state where to go and by what means. The district will have their own
plan at deploying buses to evacuate students and the office staff will play a big role in communicating
the district’s plan when talking with those parents on the phone. I could do nothing.
Frame:
My first action step would to be to immediately address the staff. I would go over the loud
speaker and tell them to please check their emails as it will contain information about the situation
going on. My email will state:
There has been a suspected tornado in Palo, Iowa that has apparently compromised the nuclear
power plant there. You will need to make sure that all windows and doors are shut from the outside.
Please keep your students as calm as possible. Please play some music on CD’s, read out loud to them,
anything that will help maintain a calm climate with what is happening. Staff not assigned to
classrooms will come around to each of you so that you can take a moment, out of the room, and
contact your loved ones to make sure you know what is going on with them. The media and district
staff are asking parents to leave their children at school and buses are being sent to our building. Our
relocation spot will be in Iowa City at West High School via the Linn County Emergency Management
plan. Those schools closest to Palo will be evacuated first. The buses will then come back to the next
school on their list and so on. We are scheduled in the 2nd round of evacuations and have been told this
could take up to 2 hours from now. We will make sure every effort is made to ensure the safety of all
students under our care. When it is time to evacuate, we will follow the attached evacuation plan in
place for the building. I will be around to every classroom to help with this procedure and to make sure
everyone remains as calm as possible. Please bring with you any items you believe your students may
need. If your student takes medication, the nurse will be sure to administer the medication at the right
time or take it with us on the bus. I will give you more directions on what to do when we arrive at West
High School.
My next step will be to utilize the extra staff members, not in the classroom, and have them go
to each classroom to give the teacher time to communicate with their own families. The secretary,
facilitator, and nurse secretary will stay in the office to help answer phone calls with concerned parents.
Their statements will be:
The evacuation plan states that you are to leave your children at school and you can pick them
up at our Temporary Relocation Center (TRC) which is Iowa City’s West High School. At this time, we will
not release any students into your care. If you need further assistance please call 211 or 1-866-4692211. We assure you that your student’s safety is our number one priority.
If parents come to the school to pick up their children, they will be told that we are not allowed
to release the students into their care as instructed by the city’s emergency plan and enforced by the
district’s legal obligation for compliance. Parents will be told to go to Iowa City’s West High School to
pick up their children and that their students will arrive when the school is released to go.
My next action step will be to execute the emergency plan for the building when the buses
arrive at XYZ elementary school. It states that when evacuating the students that the preschool and
special education rooms will evacuate to the East stair case and down the stairs to the back parking lot
and onto a bus there. The Kindergarten, first and second grade students will evacuate from the annex
and out the west doors to the buses located there. The third, fourth, and fifth grade students will
evacuate out of the main doors using the east stair case to get to the main floor and load the buses from
there. The secretary will announce who’s rooms will be evacuated one grade level/teacher at a time
with staff not assigned to classrooms helping to facilitate the classroom. I will assign one staff member
at each door, one staff member on each staircase and one staff member on each floor. I will make sure
that I am assisting each grade level and at each teacher’s door to let them know it is their time to
evacuate. When the building is secured with no one left, all other staff members are to load the bus.
Upon arrival at West High School, the district will have someone from central office to meet us
there. I will have each teacher be responsible for their classroom and will arrange them according to
grade level. Students will need to stay with their teacher, a procedure similar to our dismissal protocol.
The district administrator will have for us information of the teacher’s attendance for the day and all
student’s parental contact information. Upon the arrival of parents to pick up their children, we will
have them initial next to their student’s name to verify pickup. Those students not picked up will have
their parents called and plans will be made from there. Staff will be dismissed when 10% of the school
population is present.
I will need to evaluate the process and how effective this plan was. I will do this within the
following week we are to resume classes as I want to do this as it remains fresh in everyone’s minds. A
phone survey will be conducted to the parents asking how they would rank aspects of the evacuation
plan. I want to know how effective communication was such as how they were informed of what to do,
were the directions clear, and was the information done in a timely manner. I will send a survey out to
the teachers about how they felt the plan went. I will ask such questions such as if they were clear on
directions and felt as though they were informed of what they were expected to do. I want to know if
there was a calm environment and if their needs were met. I also want to know how they felt the actual
evacuation went and if they felt it was done in an organized manner. I will also have a section for how
this could be improved.