School Mobilization Assistance Response Team
(S.M.A.R.T)
A Manual For Principals & Secretaries
September 2010
S.M.A.R.T. Manual Table of Contents
Incident Response Flow Chart 2
S.M.A.R.T. Members Phone List 3
What are S.M.A.R.T. Teams? 4
Roles and Responsibilities
Checklist for Person Activity SMART 5
School Response Checklist 6
Principal’s Checklist 7
Teacher’s Checklist 8
S.M.A.R.T. Team Response 8
S.M.A.R.T. Support Response 9
Resources
Sample Classroom Script 10
Activities 11
Curricular Activities 12 - 13
Parent Letter Format 14
Sample Letter to Parents 15
Helping Children Cope with Grief – attachment for parent letter 16
Sample Letter – Battle Ground High School 17
Sample Letter – Laurin Middle School 18
Community Resources 19
Memorials & Donations 20 - 21
21
SMART Incident Response Flow Chart
(School Mobilization Assistance Response Teams)
September 2010
21
SMART Member Phone List
District Team Coordinator: Denice Harvey
Primary Team Leader: Richard Jones
Secondary Team Leader: Sheryl Piper
North End Team / South End TeamSheryl Piper (BGHS)
Home: Cell: / Richard Jones 306-885-5002 (PHS)
Cell:
Paul Caltagirone (Yacolt)
Home:
*Expertise in Special Education
** to be called only for Yacolt and Amboy / Mary Drury (PVP)
(CASEE)
Home: Cell:
*Expertise in Special Ed & Early Childhood Ed
Annie Carmichael (BGHS)
Home: Cell: / Chris Linquist (PHS)
Home: Cell:
*Expertise in athletic groups/clubs
Kim Hamilton (DBM & DBP)
Home: Cell:
*Expertise in Special Education / Margie Miller (RHLK)
Home: Cell:
*Expertise in M.S./H.S./Office staff/Faith Based groups
Michelle Rowen (DBM)
(AM)
Home & Cell:
*Expertise in Critical Incident Debriefing and working with trauma issues. / Melissa Mitchell (PVP)
Home: Cell:
*Building Principal; expertise with school safety plans
Krista Roadifer (CM)
(MGM)
Home: Cell / Bonnie Roggenkamp (PHS)
Home: Cell:
Dawn Pack (BGHS)
Primary Cell: 2nd Cell:
*Expertise in Community Resource & Referral / Mary Ferguson (GHP)
(Cell)
*Expertise in Special Education
Kristen McIntyre (CSP)
Home: Cell: / Laureen Held (PVM)
(LM)
Cell:
Holly Smith (MGP)
Home: Cell
Lori Homola (Parent) Home: Cell:
*Experience with students/parents
**Can work in north and south end
SMART Trainer/Coordinators
Wendi Silverthorne Jodi Wicks
Illahee Elementary School SWMC-Bereavement Manager
Evergreen School District Work: 360-696-5120
Work: 360-604-3350 Home: 360-882-0109
Cell: 360-450-7445 Cell: 360-773-8522
T.I.P Sharon Lamvik – Team Manager; cell: Vancouver TIP line
BGSD Coordinator Interpreter Assistance
Denice Harvey Spanish Translation – Maria Carbajal
CASEE – Administration Bosnian or Tagolog – Columbia Languages
Work: Cell: Vietnamese, Thai, or Laos – Columbia Languages
Home: Russian Translation – Nadiya Bodyanska
All other languages – Columbia Languages
CASEE Program –
Clark County Skills Center –
Fire Cadet Training Program
3
What are SMART Teams?
The purpose of the School Mobilization Assistance Response Teams (SMART Teams) is to assist schools in handling the emotional impact of a crisis occurring at school or affecting the school population. Crises can include catastrophic injuries (serious accidents), deaths of students or staff (suicide or homicide), shootings, and terminal illnesses. The SMART Team assists in preparing an organized and comprehensive response plan of action designed to minimize further crisis. They augment the school’s internal structure as requested by the school/district. (See “Ways that SMART Teams can assist schools during a crisis.”) SMART Teams are designed to “fly at a moment’s notice” to support a school in distress.
How can SMART Teams help your building?
SMART Teams bring many cumulative years of experience responding to crisis in the schools and are able to provide practical assistance. SMART Team members from other schools, or other school districts, can lend stability to a building staff who are likely emotionally impacted themselves by a crisis which impacts their school. Activities can include the following:
· Create and staff SAFE Rooms- designated space for students and/or staff members to go, to process their grief, sadness and/or anger
· Assess which students and staff are most likely to be impacted by a crisis
· Create a script for personnel answering school phones to provide clear, concise and consistent information to the public
· Create a script of the facts that will be disclosed to staff members in the event the phone tree system is activated
· Create a script that can be distributed to teachers to be read in the classroom to inform students of the facts of the situation and help dispel rumors
· Create a letter to send home to parents
Note: Many of the communications items listed above will be created by the district’s Public Information Officer when available.
· Assist with answering the phone to help school staff members from becoming emotionally overwhelmed by having to repeat information about the event
· Make recommendations for substitute coverage to allow staff classroom coverage as needed
· Provide counselors in classrooms as needed or requested
· Work with the transportation department to ensure that personnel who may have students impacted by the crisis are informed of the crisis and have adequate support, including sending counselors or TIP Teens on buses, as needed
· Assess the impact on custodial staff, especially if clean-up related to the event is necessary
· Assess the impact to siblings and their school community, as well as other schools that the student(s) previously attended
· Assess the impact on extracurricular activities and notify appropriate staff as needed
· In the case of a student death, ensure that the student's name is removed from computerized calling systems **note that this is just the “attendance phone call system”.
· Coordinate services from outside agencies such as EAP, mental health, or any other agency appropriate to a given situation
· Assist in debriefing staff at the end of the days events'
· Assess the need and level of services for continued services on subsequent school days
Checklist for the Person Activating the SMART Team
Gather the facts.
Double-Check the facts.
Check the facts again.
Describe the situation or problem) –include the - who, what, where, when, why, and how.
Be sure that you know the answers to these key questions:
1. What happened?
2. How did you find out?
3. Who have you called?
4. Who needs to know?
5. What details can be shared?
School Mobilization Assistance Response Teams
Preparation Checklist for a School Response
¨ Verify the facts (check with the family to obtain information and receive consent to share)
¨ Follow the Response Flow Chart for District Notification
¨ Convene S.M.A.R.T. – plan intervention
Þ Review the facts – who, what, where, when, how, additional information
Þ Determine which students and staff are most likely to be impacted (remember bus drivers)
Þ Assess safety & security needs of building (hallway and outside coverage, if needed)
Þ Assess need to bring in additional support staff
Þ Consider need to cancel classes
Þ Update school district administration
¨ Schedule staff meeting
Þ Determine who should be at staff meeting
¨ Activate school phone tree (determine script)
¨ Insure that family is not called for attendance verification
¨ Notify other schools, district departments as appropriate
¨ Compose announcement and letter to go home to parents/guardians (after talking to family and determine what information can be shared)
Þ No school wide PA announcement
¨ Establish Safe Room(s) (for students and staff, if needed)
Þ May need a room for students more closely associated (sports teams or clubs)
Þ Have TIP students if applicable
Þ TIP can roam hallways
Þ Have a sign in and sign out – escort students back to class
¨ Identify “at-risk” students who may require monitoring/intervention
¨ End of the day meeting for staff
Þ Have SMART and TIP share their perceptions about the day
Þ Provide information about Employee Assistance Program
¨ Assess need for services on subsequent days
Þ Plan for 2nd day and try to include people that were there first day – if not needed then you are at least prepared.
¨ Make sure information about memorial services is on district info line (if appropriate)
¨ Consider options for memorial
**If event happens just before a break – plan for after break response. 9/2010
Principal’s Checklist
Things to do:
· Contact SMART District Coordinator
· SMART Team Coordinator will communicate with the district office regarding the situation.
· Contact the family of the deceased to get the facts and find out what information they would like released to the public.
· Provide updated information to all concerned.
· Call impacted students of teacher’s class if possible previous to the start of school (ex. The teacher’s death occurred on the weekend.)
· Provide SMART members a daily time schedule and school map.
· Get an interpreter if needed.
· Make sure the building secretaries are aware of the situation and of the SMART team process.
· Have a staff meeting in the morning.
o Dispel rumors by giving the facts (this is ongoing.)
o Answer questions truthfully, if you don’t know, say so.
o Offer to find answers and report back
o After processing some staff may need a break.
o Set up coverage for staff impacted.
o Introduce SMART members.
o Have scripted announcements for teachers. Do not do an announcement regarding the situation.
o Give SMART Activities sheets to teachers.
· Send a letter home to parents regarding the situation.
· Inform students and staff about funeral arrangements
· Debrief with SMART Team Leader.
· Debrief with staff at the end of the day.
Things to know and be aware of:
· It is important and OK to acknowledge the situation.
· Be visible, available, and supportive.
· Avoid cleaning out student’s locker/desk or removing their artwork from school.
· SMART responds to all traumatic events not just death.
· All SMART members have ID badges.
Teachers Checklist
· Answer questions truthfully, if you don’t know, say so, offer to find answers and report back.
· After the news students may need a break. Others may welcome structure of the classroom.
· If the Safe Room is the library it will be closed to classroom visits, be flexible, and set aside curriculum as needed.
· If you need a break let your principal or secretary know.
· If you would like a SMART member in your room let your principal or secretary know.
· Dispel rumors.
· Model appropriate response.
· Give permission for a wide range of emotions.
· Identify students who need counseling and inform a SMART member or your principal or secretary.
· Provide activities to reduce trauma and express emotions through artwork, music, writing, and discussion.
SMART Team Response
· Understand you may get a call on weekends or after work.
· Coordinate with team leader any phone calls that need to be initiated.
· Refer any additional communications that might come in to the team leader.
· Meet with team before and after response.
· Contact parents of affected students who need to be sent home.
· Only Team Leader calls TIP/Wendy/others for needed support.
· Meet with Team Leader before going to assigned area.
o Safe room
o Hallways
o Classrooms
o Help principal with letter
o Faculty room
· Work with school counselors/psychologists/principals
· Team leader calls team members.
· Make sure students are escorted back to class.
SMART Support Response (non-SMART trained support staff – nurses, psychologists & Counselors)
· Help the SMART Team to identify a Safe Room that is easily accessible to students and staff.
· If you are helping students that are impacted:
o Check with a SMART member regarding process & procedures.
o Have a student sign in sheet.
o Escort students back to class when ready.
o Students should not be left alone outside or in the hallways, be sure to have them check into the safe room so that all students are accounted for.
o Send students to the Safe Room if necessary.
· If you know of a staff member who is impacted please let a SMART member know so that there can be coverage for them or that a SMART member can be in their class or area in which they work.
· If a SMART member or team has been assigned to your school please give them information that would be helpful regarding impacted students and staff.
· Meet with the SMART leader and team members for a briefing at the beginning of the day and a debriefing at the end of the day.
· Stay in contact and communicate with the team leader throughout the day.
· Be available to escort students back to class and to substitute for teachers that might be impacted.
Sample Classroom Script
“Please sit down…
We have some sad news to share with you today. (PAUSE)
One of our students (or staff) (name, grade), died on (day) from (cause of death if you have permission to share that information.)
A death is always difficult to understand. Some members of the SMART team (School Mobilization Assistance Response Team) will be available throughout the day in (name the room/location) to offer assistance.
As soon as we have more information regarding the death or details of the memorial service, we will let you know.”
Points to consider:
ü Scripts should be brief
ü Scripts should be factual
ü Read the script during the first period possible
ü Do not read the script over the PA system
ü Do not read the script during an assembly
ü Share information regarding a Safe Room and/or individual counseling available
From SMART Trainers Silverthorne and Wicks (2001, 2003, 2005)
ü Please do not speculate, elaborate or guess at what happened or what will happen next.
ü Tell students that these are the facts as you currently know them, and that you will keep them updated.
ü Acknowledge they have heard rumors, exaggerations and other information, but that you want to help them sort out the facts from fiction.
ü Make sure that students feel safe.
School Mobilization Assistance Response Teams
Activities
v Read and discuss a grief/trauma related book.
v Create a theme collage (focus on feelings, the traumatic event, memories, support systems, etc.
v Play a game, i.e. “Choose”, “Ungame”.