# Presentation: 223063

## Parents, Public & Press

- School-Centered Emergency Management
- Jo Schweikhard Moss
- Central Texas School Safety Consortium

## Emergency Management

## Why School-Centered?

- Today's schools play a unique role in emergency management...
- 	Charged with the safety and care of children, school districts have the moral obligation to ensure that they are able to respond appropriately in any crisis...and communicate that role to the "school" community.

## Emergency Public Information

- Saves lives
- Protects property
- Minimizes negative impact
- Creates positive impressions of the organization and its abilities
- Empowers personal preparedness

## Perception

- A vital informational tool is a proactive outreach program that is cost effective, applicable to unique requirements of schools and in place before an incident occurs.
- Crisis situations can be real or perceived.
- People need information that is both immediate and long term.
- Misconception, fear, and innuendo cause people to doubt our abilities to respond appropriately.

## Food for Thought

- The credibility of the organizations providing risk information is directly related to their success.
- -Susan C. Baranski

## Credibility Is Critical

- Involving parents and the community is an important part of the planning process, particularly as it relates to public perception and the credibility of your emergency preparedness program.
- Credibility builds confidence, not only in safe and secure schools, but in our overall educational mission.

## Cornerstones

- The public has and demands a "right to know"
- Information can be as important to the public as are food and water
- Being bombarded with conflicting messages prevents good decision making

## Getting Started

- Develop an understanding of preparedness before something happens.
- Discuss with parent-teacher organizations, educational associations, and media and community groups the importance of emergency preparedness in our schools.
- Solicit input about plan components that affect them such as emergency information, reunification, traffic, and community support in emergencies.
- Open dialogue about the role of schools as resources (sheltering, feeding, etc.), including the impact (good and bad) it has on the community.
- Reinforce importance of individual and family preparedness.

## Bridging the Gap

- Stress both emergency actions and reasons for them.
- Realize that the connection between preparedness at school and at home is critical. Include messages that students take home and incorporate into individual preparedness.
- Include critical components, such as...
- Who are the primary points of contact?
- Who are family emergency contacts?
- Where is the emergency assembly point at home?
- Where does family gather if they can't get home again?
- Do families have disaster supply or personal go kits?

## The Three "P"s

## Parents

- Involve parents at a level that breeds confidence without violating the more sensitive/secure parts of the planning process
- Ensure communication beyond notification when bad things happen
- Remain cognizant that parents are the conduit to the community at large, including first responders, business and the news media

## Parents

- Identify support roles for key components of the preparedness and response functions.
- Consider:
- Go kit development
- Shelter operation support
- Exercise and training
- Reunification assistance
- Administrative support
- Traffic control

## Students

- Develop an understanding of why the preparedness process is important and expectations of students as part of this process
- Develop student outreach programs such as peer assistance, masters of disaster and service learning to increase "buy in" and confidence among both students and their parents/caregivers

## Public

- Emergency Responders
- Planning coordination
- Exercise and training
- Expertise and insight
- ICS/unified command
- Joint Information System
- Volunteer Organizations
- Include above activities and...
- Resources
- Shelter
- Personnel

## Public

- Business Support
- Resources
- Credibility
- Expertise
- Exercise and training
- Consider
- Sponsorships
- Contests/PSAs
- Go kit support
- Supply lists/coupons
- Batteries
- Recognition for preparedness

## Press

- Credibility component
- Create positive image before emergencies occur.
- Develop understanding and buy-in of process.
- Public information conduit
- Coordinate process that allows us to develop, organize and release information under high-pressure, short-term situations.
- Ensure that schools have a primary role in information release.

## JIS and You

- JIS helps participants "sing off the same sheet of music"
- Provides the framework to deliver accurate, consistent, and timely information without duplication
- Reduces innuendo/rumor
- Improves preparedness and response
- Spreads the balance of work

## Newsworthy

- Proximity
- Prominence
- Timeliness
- Impact
- Conflict
- Controversy
- Uniqueness
- Human interest

- Suspense
- Updating
- Audio & video bytes

## When News is Bad

- Do be calm
- Do be truthful
- Do be cooperative
- Don't be defensive
- Don't lie
- Don't be evasive
- Don't be afraid

## Image Vs. Identity

- Public relations deals with image whereas public awareness deals with identity
- Image is associated with the artificial
- Identity defines what your program is about and gives it substance

## Awareness Campaigns

- A tool to educate people about emergency preparedness using a variety of formats and involving parents, students, public, press and the community at large.

## What Does This Mean?

- There is nothing startling new or innovative here. It simply amounts to doing what is necessary to create a safer environment for your schools.

## Building an Effective Campaign

- Develop your message
- Keep it simple
- Three-peat it
- Know your message
- Believe in your message
- Plan your strategy
- Form partnerships
- Follow through
- Make improvements
- Don't give-up!

## The "Big Ten"

- Commitment to your awareness program
- Patience to maintain your commitment
- Consistency of message
- Empowerment so that people have confidence in your program
- Understand that your program is a good  investment

- Use assorted "tools" to deliver message
- Realize benefits come subsequent to effective programs
- Ensure that your program is "convenient" to the public
- Add elements of amazement
- Develop tools to measure program effectiveness and sustainability

## Threedom

- 1st - doesn't see it
- 2nd - doesn't notice it
- 3rd - conscious of it
- 4th - faintly remembers seeing it
- 5th - reads the information
- 6th - turns nose up at it
- 7th – reads..."oh, bother!"
- 8th - "here it is again!"
- 9th - wonders if any value
- 10th - asks others about it
- 11th - wonders what can gain from it
- 12th - thinks it must be a good thing

## Threedom...

- 13th - thinks it must be worth something
- 14th - remembers wanting this for a long time
- 15th - tantalized because doesn't have time/money to follow up
- 16th - thinks they will do it some day
- 17th - makes note of it
- 18th - swears at lack of time/money
- 19th - looks at it as a time/money investment
- 20th - invests in the idea
- 21st - does it!

## So You Already Have a Program

- Does it accomplish its objectives?
- Is it stand alone or can/should it compliment other public safety or community programs?
- Is it recognizable?
- Is it in demand?
- Is it sustainable?

## Review Criteria

- Use your needs and hazard assessments to identify the issues and threats specific to your community.
- Review existing programs to determine if they are sufficient or if new programs are needed to meet changing requirements.
- Seek out additional individual, group, and program resources.

## Realize

- Regularly review and revise the methods used to reach your community.
- Do this at least annually.
- As grantees, we will influence these issues in the years ahead, so we must begin now to demonstrate the seriousness of our purpose to the entire school community.