Averting a School Crisis: A Risk Management Guide on Preparedness for School Faculty and Parents

It seems that almost daily we can turn on our televisions or sort through social media and find an incident that happened at a school that caused a disruption. Most people today are only focused on active shooter incidents. While that is a very disruptive and horrific incident to encounter, there are many other incidents that your school could, and should, be planning for. Averting a School Crisis explains to its readers how to begin the school preparedness planning process for all the incidents your school can face. Understanding how to manage your vulnerabilities and putting your staff to use will save time and lives when an emergency occurs. It is up to you to help your school become prepared for its worst day.Averting a School Crisis is an excellent resource of knowledge and guidance. This text was prepared for all members of a community, first responders, administrators, and teachers, to serve as a resource to raise awareness and activities among our children and communities.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Preface Introduction: It Can and Will Happen to You Chapter One: Understanding How to Prepare Chapter Two School Politics Chapter Three: The Incident Command System and Why You Should Care Chapter Four: The Meat & Potatoes of THE Plan Chapter Five: Use What You Have Chapter Six: Emergency Scenarios to Consider Chapter Seven: Special Events at Your School Chapter Eight: School Transportation Chapter Nine: Crisis Management Chapter Ten: Testing Your Plans Chapter Eleven: The Prepared School You Hope to Be References

About the Author :
Cody Santiago is an emergency preparedness professional that specializes in educational institutions. Mr. Santiago has traveled across the United States to work with many schools of all sizes to improve their emergency preparedness. He has worked with schools to evaluate potential risks and vulnerabilities, turning their fears into motivation to create plans for prevention, mitigation, response, and recovery. Cody has earned his B.S. in Homeland Security from California University of Pennsylvania and is currently pursuing his M.S. in Enterprise Risk Management from Boston University. In a world where risk management is critical in schools, Mr. Santiago seeks to provide helpful insight to educators and administrators in how schools can create a culture of preparedness. Creating a culture that is receptive to responding to incidents, no matter how big or small they may be, could save lives. Schools across the country should embrace these concepts and exercise them regularly. This book will aid in your preparation and training of your co-workers and staff members while responding to an emergency, no matter the magnitude. Mr. Santiago’s knowledge and logic and are useful tools to use, not only in our schools, but our daily lives.

Review :
Cody Santiago is a dynamic individual that shines both off and on the page. As an author, Santiago truly captures the spirit, energy, and sense of urgency as is due the topic of School Safety. His knowledge base and the reverent tone in which he writes makes this a truly great read and point of reference for any district, educational facility or institution looking to increase the integrity of their programs, processes and procedures throughout. Averting a School Crisis is an easy to grasp launch point or blueprint that can be used to raise the collective awareness level of staff and/or improve upon any districts existing plans. As a long time law enforcement official and practicing school safety professional, I can truly say schools should take stock in his words and insightful console or be prepared to learn painful lessons from their mistakes. I witnessed Mr. Santiago's pragmatic ideas in action as he produced a safety exercise plan for a successful mock school bus accident drill conducted by our district and transportation carrier. This book, Averting a School Crisis, is a must read for all school district leaders on the topic of school safety. Cody Santiago is an emerging industry thought leader for today’s education vertical. Mr. Santiago’s work offers a thought provoking, comprehensive, emergency manager’s perspective geared towards providing key stakeholders timely knowledge for protecting our most precious resource, our children. Mr. Cody Santiago receives my highest recommendation.