GLOBAL THINKING: INTEGRATING A CLIMATE READY MINDSET INTO EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE

Global Thinking Overview

California’s TK-12 School communities are already experiencing the impacts of our changing climate and are having to navigate the challenges related to these impacts such as disruptions in learning, abscesses, emotional trauma, physical damage to buildings and infrastructure, and costly repairs. Climate related impacts and disruptions include, but are not limited to: wildfires, extreme weather (heat, freeze, wind), storm based flooding, sea level rise, and drought. According to the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (2023), these impacts and subsequent disruptions will increase in frequency and intensity in this decade and beyond (Hechinger Report, 2023).

Climate driven disasters can often result in damage to school buildings, thereby putting strain on the physical infrastructure of a school and on limited school district budgets. This is compounded by the challenge that school facilities in the United States continue to be underfunded and in disrepair. Climate driven disasters also impact students academically and emotionally. School disruptions and closures disrupt learning, and contribute to the ongoing mental health crises in youth populations. 

Schools need to think differently about climate and weather-related emergencies, and transition to a paradigm that will allow them to be sustainable and climate resilient:  

A sustainable school is one that has “greened” their facilities and operations to reduce their ecological footprint and contribute as little as possible to the causes of climate change. Typical initiatives and practices for a sustainable school include, but are not limited to: energy and water conservation, zero waste practices, local and sustainable sourcing for food and resources, reduced exposure to toxins, green transportation efforts (walking and rolling, electric or alternative fuels vehicles, and carpooling and busses), and schoolyard greening. 

A climate-resilient school is one that buffers against climate-related impacts, such as wildfires, extreme weather (heat, freeze, wind), storm based flooding, sea level rise, and drought, and decreases harm to students’ academic progress and physical and emotional health and well-being. Sustainable and climate-resilient schools are not only climate ready, but can also be leveraged as laboratories for learning, and as models for a sustainable and climate ready future. 

Explore Your Data

Throughout this toolkit, you’ll be directed to explore the data for your region regarding the various climate emergencies your area may experience. You can find all of that data here.

LEA Action Examples for Connecting Climate Impacts with Emergency Management

The resources in this section of the toolkit provide webinar (Open Door) and case study (Spotlight) examples of Local Education Agencies (counties and districts) who have been early adopters of a climate ready mindset as they approach emergency management. 

San Mateo County Office of Education has established the Coalition for Safe Schools and Communities, a collaborative, multi-agency group focused on creating safe and supportive schools and communities. It has developed resources for addressing facilities, hazard responses, air quality, fire watches, and is expanding and deepening its work to include emerging climate threats such as flooding and high heat. Also explore their Spotlight case study here. 

In February 2024, an atmospheric river caused flash flooding, strong winds, San Diego COE had to respond to faced a stormwater and flooding emergency when a local dam overflowed into a school building.

Trauma Informed Practices (TIP)

Experiencing or witnessing the impacts of climate change (both acute and chronic impacts) can be traumatic for the children, adolescents, and adults within a school community. It is important to consider how to best integrate trauma informed practices into the phases of emergency preparedness, and to equip classroom educators and administrators with the tools they need to implement trauma informed practices with students and families. Explore resources and implementation tools at the Resource Center for Environmental and Climate Action in Schools.