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…

Food allergy in children is a growing public health problem that carries a significant risk of anaphylaxis such that schools and child care facilities have enacted emergency preparedness policies for anaphylaxis and methods to prevent the inadvertent consumption of allergens. However, studies indicate that many facilities are poorly prepared to…

Imagine what is required to meet the immediate needs of people who have experienced loss from a major disaster such as a flood, hurricane, tsunami, earthquake, or wildfire. When such events occur in the United States or its territories, the American Red Cross starts a Disaster Response Operation, and mental health is always a component in the…

The authors propose a comprehensive evaluation framework to prepare for evaluating school emergency management programs. This framework involves a logic model that incorporates Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) measures as a foundation for comprehensive evaluation that complements performance monitoring used by the U.S. Department of…

Since 9-11, emergency preparedness has been the focus on federal, state, tribal, and local levels. Although current research describes emergency management response, many barriers may exist that effect response systems, including the role of first responders, social vulnerability, and the way technology interfaces with these variables. Several…

Emergency management systems are a critical factor in successful mitigation of natural and man-made disasters, facilitating responder decision making in complex situations. Based on socio-technical systems, have which four components (people, technology, structure and task), this study develops a research framework of factors affecting effective…

This compilation offers global examples of innovative and promising literacy and numeracy programmes that link the teaching and learning of literacy to sustainable development challenges such as health, social equality, economic empowerment and environmental sustainability. This publication is a timely contribution to the 2030 Agenda for…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how participation in a class on servant leadership influenced the emergency services student's understanding of the role and characteristics of a servant leader. The setting for the study was a state university in the Western United States, with the six participants being declared emergency…

Background: Schools are responsible for handling life-threatening events due to a variety of conditions, including anaphylaxis. California is one of a few states that permits school districts to stock emergency epinephrine auto-injectors and to train unlicensed assistive personnel to administer epinephrine for a life-threatening event. We surveyed…

Student and parent use of cell phones, text messaging and social networking through Facebook and Twitter can quickly become the enemies of a superintendent and principal. Rumors and misinformation about threats and other student safety issues that used to take hours and days to spread now goes viral in seconds. This rapid dissemination of…

On September 4 2010, a massive 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Canterbury region in the South Island of New Zealand. The response from the University of Canterbury was immediate and carefully co-ordinated, with the university's web-based environment and a responsive site developed on the social media platform "Facebook" becoming…

This publication discusses emergency management standards for school use and lists standards recommended by FEMA's National Incident Management System (NIMS). Schools are encouraged to review these standards carefully and to adopt, where applicable, those that meet their needs. The lists of standards, resources, and references contained herein…

Historically, the Palm Springs Unified School District (PSUSD) in Palm Springs, California, has made it a priority to provide preventive services to students and their families. It was this priority that motivated the district's administration to pursue additional training in crisis prevention and response. It was, and is, their belief that the…