The Boone Hope Foundation has given away over $130,000 in gift cards, rent checks, and eyeglasses--all targeted to help students with emergency needs related to food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare in its rural Iowa community. This is the story of teachers from a typical Midwestern school--relatively small and certainly not affluent--who have…

Western Michigan University is building an innovative program to make welcome those students who were raised in foster care and to help them earn their diplomas without having to shoplift or trespass over the holidays. Many of the students have comfortable apartments on the campus, and a hall was kept open over the holiday break for dorm residents…

This dissertation identifies what may be done to overcome barriers to information sharing among federal, tribal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and emergency responders. Social, technical, and policy factors related to information sharing and collaboration in the law enforcement and emergency response communities are examined. This…

Ghana is highly vulnerable and threatened by several hazards and has sought ways of minimizing impacts of hazards events over time including demonstrating an interest in developing an emergency management training and an higher education degree program. Yet, as of 2013, the country has not developed a disaster management training program or a…

Since the first of the 29 significant earthquakes and thousands of aftershocks that the University of Canterbury (New Zealand) community has endured in the last year, Beverly Lord has learned a few lessons as a departmental head in a university during a time of natural disaster. Herein, she organizes and describes these lessons under five…

This study reviewed school-based crisis planning resources and guidelines provided by 40 state departments of education and offices of safe and drug-free schools. Content was examined for indications of cultural competency. The most frequently reported topics included: (a) assisting students with mental and physical disabilities, (b) tapping into…

The challenges associated with securing schools from both on- and off-campus threats create constant pressure for law enforcement, campus security professionals, and administrators. And while security technology choices are plentiful, many colleges and universities are operating with limited dollars and information needed to select and integrate…

This chapter describes the evaluation of the TsunamiReady[TM]-based educational materials distributed in New Hanover County, North Carolina. The authors evaluate whether educational materials about tsunami risk increased the perception of hazard risk, information, knowledge, and preparedness behaviors. There are three main findings. First, local…

The purpose of the study reported here was to (a) determine the role of Extension in disaster response, (b) identify the information needs, and (c) disseminate education and training modules through the EDEN. Extension staff should know their county's emergency plan and the role identified for Extension. Extension staff should attend local…

School fire drills are quickly becoming insignificant and inconvenient to school administrators. When the time for the monthly fire drill rolls around, it is often performed with a "let's get this over with" attitude. Although all schools conduct fire drills, seldom do they effectively train students and staff members how to respond in a real…

In this book, award-winning educator Cathie West teaches readers how to confidently prepare for and respond to the challenges that come with being a school leader. Derived from professional experience and extensive research, the strategies can be put to work exactly as described or adapted to fit the unique situations that educators face in their…

On January 3, 1909, Emily Hamilton and Louis Overstreet wrote to President Theodore Roosevelt begging his "leave to work under your Committee for the relief of the sufferers of Italy." The two were engaged and were willing to rush their marriage plans if the president needed them. Their letter was prompted by the powerful earthquake that…

The United States is currently experiencing its worst man-made environmental disaster, the BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is severe in its impact, but it is only one of several global oil spill disasters in history. Students can utilize the technology of Google Earth to explore the spatial and temporal distribution of…

It is of vital importance that children are educated in a safe environment. Every school needs to have a well-developed crisis management document containing plans for prevention, intervention, and postvention. We developed the Comprehensive Crisis Plan Checklist (CCPC) to serve as a valuable tool that can be used to assist practitioners with…

According to the American Red Cross (n.d.), less than half of Americans have an emergency preparedness plan in place. Therefore, it is critical that the Cooperative Extension System takes a role in encouraging the development of family preparedness plans. The Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) has developed a family and consumer sciences…