To assist local schools and districts in reviewing and refining plans for responding effectively in a crisis, the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) hosted a Refresher Crisis Response Plan Workshop on January 8. The goal of the workshop was to help districts "tune up" their crisis response strategies and interventions to reflect current best practices.
Workshop participants reviewed effective strategies for developing a crisis response plan and working with first responders. Experts also reviewed best practices for helping students, families, and staff in the event of an incident.
"Threats to school safety make it vital that our schools and districts have up-to-date plans for preventing and responding to on-campus events," said County Superintendent of Schools David W. Gordon, during his opening remarks. "We must have a heightened awareness of campus security and safety and to the emotional impact an incident like this can have on the children and families we serve."
Stephen Sellers, Assistant Secretary for Response, California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA), presented the latest planning information available for schools during his presentation titled "Developing and Refining a Crisis Response Plan." Sellers directed attendees to the CalEMA website which offers a wealth of School Safety Tips.
Representatives from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department and Elk Grove Unified School District Police Services co-presented a session titled "Crisis Response: Plan, Prepare, Practice." Presenters included: Chief Thomas Jenkins and Sgt. Richard Lozano, Elk Grove Unified School District; Lt. John Randazzo, Lt. Michael Jones, Sgt. Randy Winn, and Sgt. Chad Lewis, all from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.
The final segment of the workshop, titled "Maintaining Resiliency Following Workplace Trauma" was presented by Dr. Carol Rivero from the Managed Health Network (MHN).
More than 70 public and private school representatives attended the workshop.