Crisis, emergency, disaster, catastrophe, tragedy, trauma -- all are words heard too frequently at schools today. Almost every school has had a major crisis; every school is likely to have one. Besides natural disasters such as earthquakes and fires, students experience violence and death related to the suicide of friends, gang activity, snipers, hostage-taking, and rape. Some students react with severe emotional responses -- fear, grief, post traumatic stress syndrome. Moreover, such experiences and other events that threaten their sense of worth and well-being can produce the type of intense personal turmoil that leads students to think about hurting themselves or others.
Duirng and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, we had many interchanges with those in the field and we learned a great deal. We have archived the communications for others who might find it helpful.