Crisis management plan in the works
Needs of every
E. Brunswick school
will be considered
By Nicole C. Vaccaro
Staff Writer
EEast Brunswick school officials estimate they will have specific crisis management plans in place throughout every school in the district within the next few months.
Included among these will be a version to accommodate pending renovations of Churchill Junior High School.
The purpose of this initiative is to arm students, educators and administrators with the knowledge and skills necessary to survive an unforeseeable crisis, whether it is something as simple as a power outage or as complex as the death of a teacher.
Steps for preventing and reacting to violence will also be addressed. Thus, "lockdown" drills in which nobody may either enter or leave the building will continue to be rehearsed.
"In today’s day and age, there needs to be as much emphasis on lockdown drills as there is on fire drills," said Dr. Jo Ann Magistro, assistant superintendent of human resources. "In order for a plan such as this to be effective, we needed to entertain the possibility that nothing is out of the question and cover all of our bases."
Magistro has adopted the Crisis Management Plan as her own, working very closely with the township’s emergency management team for over a year.
The team has 16 annexes throughout the community that can be used during emergency situations.
Even the municipal building has a separate room equipped with cellular phones and fax machines to notify others of a need for assistance. Each of these locations may also serve as an information center where concerned family members can call for updates during a crisis, which, according to Magistro, is a critical part of the process.
"A crisis situation not only affects those directly involved, but those on the outside," she said. "We recognize how helpless those people might feel and made sure to address that in our plan as well."
Every principal and one administrative supervisor at the elementary level will be trained in crisis-handling procedures. Similarly, both the principals and assistant principals at the middle school level will be given instruction.
"As an added precaution, a phone with 911 capabilities will be located in every classroom and teachers will be instructed to make that their first call if a problem should arise," Magistro added. "The principal should be their second call."
Earlier this week, Magistro met personally with all school substitutes and security aides to go over various procedures. For those substitutes who will start later in the school year, the security aides will handle their instruction.
During last week’s Board of Education meeting, members expressed their gratitude and confidence in Magistro’s thorough efforts. Next, steps will include an open discussion with parents about why the district has chosen to take such measures and how these will help to ensure their children’s safety.
While the basic plans are nearing completion, there are some things the board is still working on, such as individualized building procedures.
"Every school will have their specific plan on file, including Churchill," said Magistro. "It will utilize that building’s unique setup in order to execute an expedient evacuation if necessary."
The district is also in the process of securing aerial plans for each school, which would be available through the township’s EMT.
Clergy, police, township officials and business professionals are also being sought after to provide additional support should an emergency arise. This may include the use of their facilities, such as the Hilton hotel or nearby church, for use during a crisis as either an evacuation site or communications post.
"If there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout this process, it’s that you want and need to know your community counterparts before a crisis happens," said Magistro.
"It makes for one less thing to worry about when you’re involved in a bad situation and that frees your attention up for other things."

