After any crisis or tragedy event occurs, a school may need support for students and teachers as they process their grief. Crisis Responders function with the purpose of creating and maintaining psychological safety for staff and students, and provide guidance and expertise for grieving staff and students.
Primary Crisis Responders:
Each building should have a School Psychologist, School Counselor(s), and Mental Health Specialist assigned. These Responders, with assistance from the district's Administrator of Psychological Services, will create and run Care Rooms, help determine which students are likely to be highly impacted by the event, and help determine if a student needs to be referred for on-going community counseling support.
Backup Crisis Responders:
The Psych Services Administrator can activate additional psychologists, counselors, and mental health specialists if the crisis necessitates more support than available at the building level. These Backup Responders are usually the school-based mental health staff assigned to the other secondary or elementary buildings in the region, but others may be assigned depending on the nature of the crisis/tragedy.
Reserve Crisis Responders:
In order to prevent responder burnout and minimize secondary trauma, he Psych Services Administrator can activate different psychologists, counselors, and mental health specialists if the crisis necessitates support across multiple days. These Reserve Responders are the school-based mental health staff assigned across the district who did not participate as Primary or Backup Responders.