Superintendent's Guidelines

Roles

Working at the highest levels of leadership in schools and community mental health agencies, the superintendent of schools and the director of public mental health services (at the county or other regional level) play essential roles in establishing the overarching collaborative-organization agreements that permit and encourage collaborative mental health services in schools. These agreements provide important institutional sanction and the recognition that students and staff may need assistance after a school crisis.

Tasks

District Crisis Team Guidelines

Roles

The district crisis team is activated when the school principal determines that the crisis demands resources beyond the scope of the school-site crisis team.

The staff on the district crisis team should be identified at the beginning of each academic year and should represent the most skilled, trained, and experienced health and mental health crisis recovery personnel available to the school district.

Team members' roles include:

• Supporting the principal and the school-site crisis team
• Bringing calm to the school campus
• Coordinating the community health and mental health personnel who serve the school's staff and students
• Acting as a liaison with the superintendent's office and other central office personnel
• Providing up-to-date information and identifying additional services that the school may need from the district

District Crisis Team Leader Tasks

• Act as incident commander, officially convening the school-site team
• Request additional community support when needed
• Keep central office informed

Assistant Team Leader Tasks

• Work with the assistant principal to assess the extent of the crisis's physical and emotional impact on the school
• Serve as logistics coordinator and deploys district crisis team members to rooms designated for media, counseling, and parent meetings

School Counselors, School Psychologists, School Social Workers Tasks

• Provide additional individual and group counseling and psychological first aid to students and staff

School Nurses Tasks

• Monitor staff health problems and somatic complaints initiated by the crisis

School Site Crisis Team Guidelines

School crisis team positions are filled from among existing local school staff in preparation for immediate crisis response. The School Site Crisis Team Chart [14] should be completed at the beginning of each school year and distributed to all personnel so that every staff member understands who is responsible for specific crisis-response functions. (Source: Jane's School Safety Handbook, 2001)

Two qualified alternates should also be identified for each position, in the event that the lead person is not available when needed. Provide an updated list, as needed, when assignments change during the year. Click here to view and download a printable School Site Crisis Team Chart. (Word file) [15]

Principal Guidelines

Roles

Tasks

• Identify an in-house mental health program coordinator/director or point person who can provide leadership and technical expertise
• Delegate authority to a school counselor, school psychologist, or school social worker to assist with the organization, implementation, coordination, and maintenance of the intermediate and long-term mental health services in the school
• Review existing responsibilities of Health and Human Services personnel at school
• Adjust job roles and responsibilities as needed to meet the needs of students and staff
• Assign staff to review school records (academic records, attendance records, and health records) to help identify at-risk students who may need further mental health assistance
• Assess if students' family members are facing new challenges as a result of the traumatic event, keeping in mind that information about treatment is confidential
• Authorize recovery awareness training for teachers, Health and Human Services personnel, nurses, school staff, and community mental health personnel
• Convene school and community meetings to review interventions and gather information from the immediate period of crisis response
• Meet regularly with all mental health personnel to check needs of students and staff
• Meet with parents and community for regular information updates
• Provide staff with regular updates on procedures for assessing and referring students for additional support or treatment
• Meet with district-level personnel to review the regular services grant from Project SERV and to identify any other potential funding services
• Provide a written report to district administration
• Identify the intermediate and long-term recovery needs as expressed by staff, students, parents, community, and district administration
• Make logistical arrangements for a comfortable, quiet location on or off campus where school and community mental health professionals can provide mental health recovery services for students
• Prepare positive messages for the media that include reassurances that students and staff are cared for and that services are available on campus and/or in the community
• Reinforce to families that the best place for students following a crisis is at school, where they can participate in supportive and stabilizing school and social routines

Teacher Guidelines

Roles

The teacher is the instructional leader of the classroom. He or she sets the tone for recovery, conveying concern and support for all recovery efforts, with an eye to reducing or eliminating stigma for students who seek additional services and care. The teacher gives consent for students to be excused from class for mental health services and refers students to school mental health professionals. As the person who interacts with the most students on a daily basis, the teacher is also in an important position to advocate for services and effective schoolwide responses to crises.

The classroom teacher is in a unique position to contribute to or complement student recovery following traumatic events at school. The impact of the events is likely to play out in the classroom. Student behaviors may change, and these behaviors are sometimes best acknowledged and addressed in the classroom when a teacher has an understanding of how the crisis can affect student's behaviors.

For example, a number of students may be anxious and, in turn, become less cooperative or less active in classroom discussions. There may be angry outbursts or questions about safety. In each case, teachers should become knowledgeable about how to respond.

Click here for information on "The Effects of Trauma on Students" [16] on this website. For additional information, please the visit the Resources for Schools [17] section of this site.

Tasks

• Re-establish classroom routine and maintain the teaching and learning environment of the classroom
• Help identify changes in student behavior that may indicate problems with health or mental health
• Help identify changes in life circumstances (family moving to a new home, job loss in the family, etc.) that are "secondary adversities" resulting from the traumatic event or that may place an additional burden on the student as he or she comes to grip with the event
• Keep open communication with students, staff, and administration
• Convey an open invitation for students to talk about how they are doing
• Expect regular updates from the administration describing school services
• Insist on question and answer time during staff meetings

Teacher Training

Training in the intermediate and long-term recovery processes from crises will help teachers better understand the behavior of students. Intermediate and long-term mental health challenges may be unlike those of the immediate aftermath of a disaster or crisis. Each child and adult recovers at a different rate depending upon the level of his or her exposure to the event and other factors. Teachers may want to request additional training either as a way to prepare themselves for crises or to improve their effectiveness in the aftermath of an existing crisis. Staff development for teachers should include the following components:

School Mental Health Provider Guidelines

Roles

Tasks

• Provide support, technical assistance, and advice to the principal
• Provide support, consultation, training, and technical assistance, as needed, to school staff
• Provide mental health recovery information and support to parents
• Promote staff self-care and teach adults stress-reduction techniques
• Maintain close contact and open communication with students, staff, and parents
• Work closely with the principal to develop and maintain the on-site mental health program
• When authorized by the principal, serve as a liaison with community-based agencies and monitor the work of community mental health professionals providing services to students on campus

School Nurse Guidelines

Roles

Tasks

•  Oversee the health and well-being of students
• Assist in identifying children and staff who may need additional mental health services and support, especially students and personnel who present with somatic complaints
• Provide training, when appropriate, to students and personnel about the interplay of health and mental health factors
• Monitor the health of high-risk students
• Coordinate health and mental health referrals from staff

Community Mental Health Professional Guidelines

Roles

The community mental health professional serves as a supplemental mental health service provider and consultant to the school. His or her role is to support, not supplant, the mental health services that are provided by the school counselor, school psychologist, and school social worker. She or he helps set the tone for recovery, conveying concern and support for all recovery efforts, with an eye to reducing or eliminating stigma for students who seek additional services and care. The community mental health professional also helps the school site administrator recognize and plan for intermediate and long-term services for staff and may play a primary role in responding to unforeseen crises that arise during successive phases of recovery.

Tasks

• Identify and establish contact with child trauma referral and treatment agencies specific to the needs of the school in crisis
• Provide support, consultation, and training recommendations to school staff focused on topics such as student self-care and stress-reduction techniques
• Provide the school principal with a monthly mental health service report

Selecting the Most Effective Community Mental Health Providers

The most effective mental health providers are those who are carefully screened for experience and training in child trauma treatment. This experience may include special certification for working with students, licensure in a related area, or evidence of special child trauma treatment coursework.