Leadership Matters - May 2013

Loss of multiple students story —————————

Lessons Learned

(Continued from page 9)

“ In the end, the best thing that leaders can provide in a time of crisis is a sense of calm accompanied by clear direction for

3. Communication The third step is to reach out to other necessary parties (Board of Education, Administrators, families, etc.) to share some basic information or express condolences. Do this when you have some time after the initial assessment of the situation has taken place and confirmation of identities has been received from Law Enforcement officials.

staff and the community. The compassion and respect that you show is what you will eventually be judged upon when your reactions to the situation are evaluated . ”

- Superintendent Jay Plese, Wilimington District 209U

Determine where the press conference will be held. My recommendation is that it not occur on school property. 5. Assistance in a crisis The fifth step is to begin filtering who, what, when, where, and how you will use whatever is being offered. Prepare yourself to be inundated with offers that come in all at once. In your desire to do the right thing, deciding what to accept and what not to accept can become overwhelming. This process comes down to a balancing act from the heart as to what to take and what to decline. It is leadership laced with compassion. For example, we accepted the help of counselors from neighboring school districts and a local hospital in the days after the tragedy we experienced. We politely declined the offer made by our bus company to transport our students to memorial services because our counselors advised us that this would not be in the student’s best interest. Although it was a nice gesture by the bus company, the counselors felt that students should be accompanied by a parent or guardian for support when attending a memorial service for a classmate. Closing Thoughts In the end, the best thing that leaders can provide in a time of crisis is a sense of calm accompanied by clear direction for staff and the community. The compassion and respect that you show is what you will eventually be judged upon when your reactions to the situation are evaluated.

When families are contacted, try to be as sensitive and delicate as possible throughout the conversation. It is a good idea to ask about their wishes for dissemination of information about their children, including the following issues:  Would they like the school to release a current yearbook picture to the media, if asked?  Would they be interested in accepting donations from the community (food, counseling, memorial gifts, money, etc.)?  If so, can we have a contact number to offer to groups seeking to give assistance?  Would they like the school to clean out their student’s lockers for them? If so, identify a secure area in the school office where families can collect their student’s belongings. 4. Release of information The fourth step will be to set a time for a press conference and give adequate time for a message to be developed containing the appropriate facts. If possible, try to allow for no more than 3 to 6 hours of lapse time. Plan to work closely with the authorities to determine facts, assess conclusions drawn, and agree upon the best way to release the information (who speaks about what issues, etc.)

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