To allow as much flexibility as possible for school staff to take a break from the incredibly difficult school year, yet still have the opportunity to continue to learn about school safety and security, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) Maine School Safety Center (MSSC) has assembled a relaxed, go at your own pace, and self-select menu of short professional development sessions (30-45 minutes each)!
The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center (REMS TA) has archived several school safety asynchronous sessions. Participants can register through REMS, complete any or all sessions listed below in any order, and can then complete a brief MSSC survey on each completed session. Once the survey is completed, a one-contact hour certificate will be made available to participants for each session completed.
Following is the link to, description of, and survey for each session:
Developing Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs) K-12 101
A high-quality school EOP is adequate, feasible, acceptable, complete, and compliant with state and local requirements. To ensure that EOPs meet these criteria, school planning teams must work collaboratively to determine EOP goals and objectives. That is why the planning process is so important. Although processes should be adapted based on the unique characteristics of the school, school district and situation, teams can use this session to learn about all aspects of plan development, assessment, review, implementation, and maintenance.
Learn more and take the course
School EOPs In-Depth: Developing a Bereavement and Loss Annex
This session has been designed to help you understand the importance of including plans for responding to bereavement and loss in a high-quality school emergency operations plan (EOP) and common manifestations among children related to bereavement and loss. When you are finished with this session, you will be able to assemble the appropriate team for developing the bereavement and loss plan; identify and incorporate responses to bereavement and loss into appropriate annexes; identify and consider the role of developmental factors in early elementary, school-aged children, and adolescents in creating your plan that includes establishment of a crisis response team, as well as appropriate policies and procedures; and conduct stakeholder training related to bereavement and loss.
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School EOPs In-Depth: Developing a COOP Annex
This session has been designed to help you learn about the Continuity of Operations (COOP) Functional Annex, or “COOP Annex.” When you are finished with this session, you will be able to define and explain the purpose of the COOP Annex; identify the types of circumstances that lead to COOP Annex activation; develop a COOP Annex as aligned with steps 3 and 4 of the recommended six-step planning process; and understand how to revise and implement COOP planning as aligned with steps 5 and 6 of the recommended six-step planning process.
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School EOPs In-Depth: Developing a Food Contamination Annex
This session has been designed to help you learn how to incorporate food safety planning into a school Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). When you’ve completed this session, you will be able to explain the purpose of the Food Contamination Annex; assemble the appropriate team for developing the annex; develop the annex to include procedures for addressing food contamination and food recall; conduct staff training and exercises related to the annex; and use data and techniques (e.g., after action reports) to revise and maintain the annex.
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School EOPs In-Depth: Planning for Infectious Diseases
This session has been designed to help you learn how to incorporate infectious disease planning into a school Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). When you are finished with this course, you will be able to define and explain the purpose of the Infectious Disease Annex; identify the types of circumstances that lead to Infectious Disease Annex activation; explain the functions and recommended contents of an Infectious Disease Annex; explain the integration of infectious disease planning with relevant functional annexes; and understand how to revise and implement infectious disease planning, as aligned with steps 5 and 6 of the recommended six-step planning process.
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School EOPs In-Depth: Planning for Large Events
This session has been designed to help you define large events and the special vulnerabilities they pose to schools, understand planning considerations unique to large events, update the other annexes in your Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) to account for large events, conduct staff and stakeholder training and exercises related to large events, and use data and techniques (e.g., after action reports) to revise and maintain your EOP.
Learn more and take the course
For further questions, please contact the Maine School Safety Center.