Anne Arundel

School Crisis and Emergency Management Plan

AACPS has in place a Crisis and Emergency Management Plan provides basic guidelines and procedures to be followed in the event of an emergency or crisis incident. All school staff are familiar with the plan and their individual responsibilities in the event of an emergency.

The following Crisis and Emergency terminology is used when determining a course of action for emergencies or crises.

Emergencies are events or incidents that will most likely require the initiation of an “Emergency Procedure.”

Crises are events or incidents that require immediate action to prevent or minimize a highly undesirable outcome.

What Does The Plan Address?

The plan takes in consideration of all four phases of emergency and crisis management planning:

Mitigation/Prevention - the school participates in or has initiated the measures to mitigate and/or prevent emergency and crisis incidents.
Preparedness - Preparation and execution of this plan coupled with the training requirements are the basis for the school’s preparedness phase of emergency and crisis management planning.
Response - The plan addresses appropriate responses for the following emergencies and crisis incident(s):

Examples of “Emergency Incidents,” but not limited to:

Bus Accidents
Severe Weather (storms, lightning, limited visibility for travel)
Student or staff deaths (suicide, homicide, unintentional, or natural)
Medical Emergencies
Utility System Emergencies
Traumatic incident(s) as a result of any of the above or below critical incidents
The aftermath of a crisis or emergency

Recovery - The recovery process has the goal of returning the facility staff and students to the pre-incident level of instruction and operations as quickly and appropriately as possible.

Emergency Incident Command System

At the initiation of an emergency, the principal is the primary person responsible for managing the situation:

Directing/supporting the facilitation of the emergency response.
Communicating with the central office and on-site media requests. Requesting assistance from the Central Office or school system. resources to include trauma or student safety incident(s).
Ensuring first responders are requested if appropriate.

School Incident Command System (ICS) Team

Each school has designated personnel to help the principal to properly manage emergencies, critical incidents, and assist first responders. The first responders always take the lead role. Normally the Safe Schools Teams are key members of the Incident Command System Teams.

Staff Response for Special Needs

Emergency procedures and information includes special needs students and staff.

Mitigation/Prevention - the school participates in or has initiated the measures to mitigate and/or prevent emergency and crisis incidents.

Preparedness - Preparation and execution of this plan coupled with the training requirements are the basis for the school’s preparedness phase of emergency and crisis management planning.

Response - The plan addresses appropriate responses for the following emergencies and crisis incident(s):

Recovery - The recovery process has the goal of returning the facility staff and students to the pre-incident level of instruction and operations as quickly and appropriately as possible.