Brigid Duffy
The next time the power goes out, or somebody faints in class, students and staff should look for the little red binder. The binders, only one inch thick, are replacing the old crisis management flip charts as part of changes to the district’s crisis management plan.

The push for changes came with an annual review and in light of recent crises in the last several years. Communications Manager Sara Thompson said that recent events changed the administration’s perspective.

“We definitely looked at it with new eyes,” Thompson said. “None of the changes are drastic, I’d call it more of a fine tuning.”

According to Thompson, the plan includes procedures for all kinds of emergencies.

“You say crisis and people go to intruder or bomb threat or something on a very large scale,” Thompson said. “Whereas crisis can be a medical emergency or even a utilities failure.”

Senior Abdi Mohamud doubts the effectiveness of planning for any crisis.

“Preperation will help, but some emergencies happen so quickly that training might not really help that much with making the right reaction,” Mohamud said. “Like if I was on fire, I may not remember to stop drop and roll because of the heat of the moment.”

While the district is reworking the crisis management plans, the school board is reviewing the district’s policy on crisis management. Both reviews are still in progress. The district tentatively expects to have a final draft for the reworked plan in February. Once the plan and policy are finalized, new staff training will take place.