Health and Student Services ESP —  Building a Quality Workforce

Violence and Crisis — The Awful New Reality

In the wake of Columbine and the many other school shootings, and now with the terror of September 11, Health & Student Services ESP are focused more than ever before on trauma and crisis response and emergency preparedness. Their skill sets, expertise and training are what make the difference in a crisis situation. "Children involved in a traumatic event in their school need to talk with a counselor or health professional, not a reporter," says Becky Fleischauer, NEA Communications Staff. (NEA Today, Jan. 2001).

Creating and maintaining a safe and healthy environment for students now involves much more than checking for head lice and giving out aspirin. The awful realities that invade the school campus today can involve guns and weapons, violent intruders, explosives, and/or terrorism. The Health & Student Services ESP now must know how to work within a crisis response plan. They must interact with public health authorities and emergency medical personnel as well as firefighters and police. Sometimes their work even involves dealing with the FBI.

Meaningful professional development and training is the key to better and more effective response by employees in a crisis. Practice and information for school health professionals is crucial to promoting and maintaining safety. Health & Student Services ESP need all these ingredients and support from administrations and school boards. Their skills and expertise can and do often make life or death differences in emergency situations for students and staff in our public schools.

To Section 9: Health and Safety — Protecting the Individual Employee