Chapter J - Emergency Response

Part 5.0 Crisis Intervention Plan

Section 5.4 Teachers and Staff Responsibilities

Policy Statement:

TEACHERS AND STAFF:

Short-term:

1.  Maintain Normalcy - adhere to the classroom routine as much as possible. 

2.  Model - adult behavior that shows them how responsible adults react to loss and respond to a crisis. Adults may grieve, but they continue to act with consideration and maintain calm routines at school.

3.  Triage - advise crisis team members of students who need additional support outside of the classroom. Timely, appropriate intervention benefits the struggling student and helps avoid additional strain on other students.

4.  Listen - to what students want to share with you. It may be difficult but just listening can be a powerful healing force.

5.  Protect - students from becoming re-traumatized. Sometimes other students may ridicule or bully students who are highly emotional or cry.

Long-term:

1.  Review - reference materials provided by the Counselor Team.

2.  Reconnect - with students who have suffered a loss by asking how they are doing; checking in with them on a regular basis; letting them know that you are available to listen; or giving them positive feedback about their attendance or classroom work.

3.  Recognize - Reactions after a loss can have a significant impact on learning.  Students may:

a)  Show a decline in school performance

b)   Have difficulty mastering new material

c)    Become more irritable

d)   Become more withdrawn

e)    Become more anxious or depressed

f)     Become more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviors such as substance abuse, promiscuity, reckless driving, and suicide attempts in adolescents

g)    Become focused on the loss

4.  Respond - These at-risk students should be offered additional supports, such as counseling services so that students can assess and understand their own behavior and learn new ways for coping, or participation in tutoring or our Learning Lab program.  Our goal is to assist them in maintaining their academic progress before academic failure occurs, which would represent an additional stressor.