disaster 5th 1108_5th ed 2011 - Homeland Security and Emergency ...

APPENDIX C
School Safety Resources
(Tools for Educators, Officials & Parents)
According to the U.S. Department of Education, every day more than 50
million students attend schools that continue to be havens of safety. In fact,
crime in schools has been decreasing since 1992. The CDC reports the
number of children and youth homicides that are school-related make up
only 1% of the total number of child and youth homicides in the U.S.
However, recent events have sparked an interest in school safety.
Parents / guardians need to be proactive and work with school officials to
find out what the procedures and plans are in the event of a disaster, lockdown
or evacuation. Get involved by attending school safety planning
meetings, working with local PTAs or volunteering your time at the school.
And keep the lines of communication open with your children starting at a
very early age so kids feel comfortable coming to you with questions or
problems they may face at school.
Due to limited space, we are providing a sampling of the many agencies,
companies and nonprofits providing products, services and resources about
School safety and planning (in alphabetical order). Please spend some time
researching these links to see which ones fit your school’s specific needs.
Also check out Additional Resources & Web Sites on page 244.
American Psychological Association (offers books, videos, articles and
news on topics like bullying, natural disasters, trauma, violence, etc.)
www.apa.org/topics/violence
American Red Cross (offer Youth Programs like Masters of Disaster, Be
Ready 1-2-3, etc.) www.redcross.org
American School Counselor Association (offers resources and
publications for Counselors & Members, Administrators and Parents &
Public) www.schoolcounselor.org
CDC Healthy Schools Healthy Youth! (offers data on health topics like
Crisis Preparedness & Response, Injury & Violence, etc.)
www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth
Center for Safe Schools (provides physical and online resources for the
prevention of school violence and recovery after traumatic events, list of
State School Safety Centers, etc.) www.safeschools.info
234 www.itsadisaster.net or call 1-888-999-4325