Arizona Schools Emergency Preparedness Web Cast PowerPoint Presentation
The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) is committed to assisting schools and communities to provide a safe
learning environment that supports academic achievement. School safety is a community issue that requires collaboration
between the schools, emergency response agencies, parents and the community. This information will help schools and
communities develop, implement and strengthen their school safety plans. An integrated school safety plan takes an all
hazards approach. The plan should address prevention, response and recovery for any emergency. ADE Comprehensive Health
Programs specialists can provide technical assistance on prevention programs and emergency response plans.
Schools that have comprehensive violence prevention and response plans in place, plus teams to design and implement
those plans, report the following:
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- Improved academics
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- Better staff morale
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- Reduced disciplinary referrals and suspensions
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- More efficient use of human and financial resources
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- Improved school climate that is more conducive to learning
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- Enhanced safety
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Excerpt from US Department of Education publication, Safeguarding Our Children: an Action Plan.
The tools and resources are provided to implement and strengthen your school safety plan. These plans must conform to
the Arizona School Emergency Response Plan, Minimum Requirements. Each
site must establish a safety team that collaborates with local law enforcement, fire, and emergency management agencies.
Once a plan has been developed, staff, students and parents must be trained how to use the plan. Exercises and drills
are then conducted to test the plans effectiveness. The sample plans and forms available on this site may be edited to
meet your individual site needs.
An integrated school safety plan consists of three components, Prevention, Response and Recovery. Each component is
vital to the effectiveness of the overall plan.
Prevention: Prevention programs are the first component in an integrated school safety plan. The purpose of
these programs is to create a safe school environment that supports academic achievement. These programs address a
variety of issues to include violence/substance abuse and threat assessment. Our primary goal is to prevent emergencies.
Response: Some emergencies or disasters cannot be prevented. In those cases the second component, emergency
response and emergency operations plans are necessary to insure an effective response. By having an emergency response
plan in place, schools will minimize the impact of an emergency or disaster. It is important for all involved response
entities to coordinate and plan their activities in advance. This will minimize confusion and enhance the response.
Recovery: We must be prepared to assist students and staff in their emotional recovery from an emergency or
disaster. To do this a Critical Incident Stress Management response plan is necessary to care for affected students and
staff. Facilities recovery is another important consideration. It is important to have plans in place to get classes
back in operation as soon as possible after the response is concluded.
ARE YOU PREPARED TO RESPOND TO A DISASTER?
Use this checklist to test your schools level of preparedness.
Most downloadable documents on the Arizona Departments of Education's Website require Adobe Acrobat Reader.
If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0 or higher, please click on the image to download a FREE copy. You may request the document in its original format (if available)
through the contact listed on the page.
For information and tools to help make Adobe PDF files accessible to users with visual disabilities, go to Access Adobe.
Prevention Resources
Resources to create or strengthen programs to prevent violence and substance abuse in your school and community. This
includes No Child Left Behind, Title IV and State Chemical Abuse Prevention funding.
Arizona School Emergency Response Plans
Resources to assist schools, parents and communities develop and implement school emergency response plans. Sample
plans, sample forms and resources are provided as well as the Arizona School Emergency Response Plan Minimum and
Recommended Requirements.
Recovery Resources
Resources and links to assist in designing a Critical Incident Stress Management program and tips on planning for
facilities recovery to get school back in session as soon as possible after a disaster.
Terrorism Information
Information on current terrorist threats, protective measures and response considerations in the event of a terrorist
attack.
Information and Resources for Parents
Tips for parents on talking to your children about tragedies and what you can do to help your school and community be
prepared to respond to a disaster.
Training Opportunities
Related Arizona Laws
Frequently Asked Questions for Emergency Response
Contact Information:
Jean Ajamie, Director School Safety and Prevention
(602) 542-8734
