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Toward Successful School Crisis Intervention
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Toward Successful School Crisis Intervention
9 Key Issues



July 2007 | 128 pages | Corwin
Despite their best and frequently heroic efforts, school crisis intervention teams continue to find themselves unprepared for the many and varied tragedies they face. The recent school shootings in Bailey, Colorado, and Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania; the tragedies of Hurricane Katrina and 9-11; and especially the everyday threats to the health of staff and students are increasingly underscoring the need for rethinking crisis intervention services in schools. This new book from Charles M. Jaksec III, a longtime school social worker and crisis intervention team member, is a call to current and future crisis intervention team members to do things differently. The book does not provide readers with a step-by-step plan for responding to a crisis from beginning to end, as so many existing books have done. Instead, it brings ten critical issues to the attention of all those currently and potentially involved in the provision of intervention services. One by one, Jaksec points out why these issues have obstructed intervention efforts, and offers suggestions for how teams can proactively and effectively address them early in, and continuously throughout, the school year. This short guide invites school counselors, school psychologists, nurses, principals, teachers, and all those who may serve on intervention teams to reevaluate their beliefs and practices. Blending relevant research with personal experience, Jaksec makes a compelling case for the issues that must be considered to make schools and students ready for the various difficulties that will confront them. An ideal book study for intervention teams, Toward Successful School Crisis Intervention offers numerous tips and discussion questions for individual and group reflection and planning.
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
Introduction
 
1. The Responsibility for School Crisis Intervention: Whose Job Is This, Anyway?
Who Should Provide Crisis Intervention?

 
Reasons for Reluctance

 
Eager to Help But Unprepared

 
Helpful Tips

 
Questions for Discussion

 
 
2. Necessary Attributes and Abilities for Team Members: What Does It Take?
Attributes for Handling a Crisis

 
Abilities in Handling a Crisis

 
Helpful Tips

 
Questions for Discussion

 
 
3. Training of School Crisis Intervention Team Members: Going to War Without a Weapon?
When Training Is Inadequate

 
How Are School Crisis Interventionists Prepared?

 
Preservice Training

 
Inservice Professional Development

 
Tips for Training Inadequately Prepared School Crisis Intervention Teams

 
Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Training

 
Helpful Tips

 
Questions for Discussion

 
 
4. Logistical School Crisis Response: The Overlooked Intervention
Organized Response Is the Difference Between Sucess and Failure

 
Developing a Logistical Plan of Action

 
Helpful Tips

 
Questions for Discussion

 
 
5. Determining the Impact of a Crisis: How Big Will the Bang Be?
Looking Before You Leap

 
Assessing Impact Variables

 
Determining the Scope of the Crisis

 
Awareness of the Number of Crises a School Has Suffered

 
Availability of Support Staff

 
Location and Time of the Crisis

 
The Immediacy of the Crisis

 
Identifying Who Has Been Affected by the Crisis

 
Three Critical Questions to Address Impact Effectively

 
Helpful Tips

 
Questions for Discussion

 
 
6. Non-School-Based Crisis Intervention Teams: Districts and Schools Working Together
The Make Up of District-Level Teams

 
Advantages and Disadvantages of District-Level Crisis Intervention Teams

 
Three Guidelines for Non-School-Based/District Crisis Teams

 
Helpful Tips

 
Questions for Discussion

 
 
7. Teachers: The Overlooked Interventionists
What Prevents Teacher Involvement in Crisis Intervention?

 
The Provision of In-Class Crisis Intervention

 
The Case for Teachers as Crisis Interventionists

 
Administrative Steps for Teacher Inclusion in Crisis Intervention Activities

 
Helpful Tips

 
Questions for Discussion

 
 
8. Did We Forget Anyone? Addressing the Needs of Every Staff Member
Why Faculty Members Don't Always Receive Support

 
Helpful Tips

 
Questions for Discussion

 
 
9. Primary Prevention: Preparing for Crises Before They Happen
The First Level of Intervention Is Prevention

 
Why Don't Schools Usually Engage in Primary Prevention?

 
The Benefits of Primary Prevention

 
Misconceptions About a Preventive Approach

 
Looking Forward

 
Helpful Tips

 
Questions for Discussion

 
 
Conclusion
 
Resources
 
Common Questions and Helpful Answers About Group Counseling Sessions
 
References

"An important topic for everyone involved in education. This quick reference guide will help educators plan for a crisis before it happens."

Sharon Roemer, Principal
Ocean View Elementary School, Arroyo Grande, CA

"The author is an experienced crisis intervener and the book has a refreshing, conversational tone."

Michael Pines, Consultant, School Mental Health/Crisis Intervention
Los Angeles County Office of Education

"Written by a longtime school social worker and crisis intervention team member who uses this experience to address nine topics readers can use to manage crises. Perfect for teachers and educator administrators alike."

California Bookwatch, October 2007

"Merits the attention of a wide array of school-based professionals because it provides sound information in a user-friendly manner. Thought-provoking discussion questions are available, making this book a resource for the training of interventionists as well as for strengthening existing crisis plans."

PsycCRITIQUES, February 2008, Vol. 53(9)
American Psychological Association

"An invaluable tool for staff and faculty members who make up institutional crisis committees as well as those who are the first-line defense against crises that are a reality in our schools."

NACADA Journal, Spring 2008, Vol. 28(1)

Sample Materials & Chapters

Jaksec Intro

Jaksec Chapter 1


For instructors

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