Standardized Approaches to Incidents at your School

Bottom Line Up Front: You need to understand NIMS, All Hazard Approach, ICP, and EM Cycle to have a prepared School community!!!!

Background: Following the attacks of Sept 11, 2001 our nation reconfigured how it organized, planned, prepared, and responded to incidents whether they be man-made or natural occurences. There has been significant reorganization and revisiting stategy, education, training, operations, and most importantly establishing a preparedness mindset in everyone. The changes started at the federal level (DHS: Dept of Homeland Security) and then trickled down to the state level (State Public Safety / Emergency Management /Homeland Security), and eventually the local level (City Emergency Managers). The DHS developed the National Incident Management System (NIMS: listed on the FEMA link above) . We will discuss the following concepts in future blogs:

• National Incident Management System (NIMS)
• Incident Command Post (ICP)
• All Hazard Approach
• Emergency Management cycle 
• School preparedness stakeholder collaboration at all levels

WHY BOTHER I AM AN EDUCATOR NOT AN EMERGENCY MANAGER????
Understanding and eventually incorporating these concepts will allow you to develop a holistic approach to school preparedness at your school that will provide you the opportunity to apply for federal and state grants and make you school and its inhabitants more safe and secure regardless of what occurs. PREPAREDNESS IS NOT SOMETHING DONE FOR YOU BY OTHERS, IT IS WHAT YOUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY DOES FOR ITSELF. You must take ownership of your school's preparedness.