Mercer University
Active Shooter
Active Shooter
Active Shooter
Crisis Preparedness for School Leaders:
Preemption, Negotiation, and Recovery
Course Description
EDEL 764 is an 8-week online course that provides school leaders, teachers, & staff with research-based knowledge and tools needed to anticipate, mitigate, and recover from crises.
The course covers six areas of concern:
I. Mass Shootings
II. Child Suicides / Homicides
III. Hate Crimes
IV. Health Pandemics
V. Domestic Terrorism
VI. Severe Weather
ACTIVE SHOOTER events continue to wreak havoc in the United States and are becoming increasingly more deadly. In the first 6 months of 2023, the United States experienced the greatest number of mass killings since 2006. From January 1 to June 30, 2023, the FBI recorded 28 mass killings, all but one of which involved guns.
Educational settings are the second-most targeted site for these incidents, behind commercial venues (parks, movie theaters, open concerts, etc.).
(Click below for regularly updated data)
The Rise of Child Suicides and Homicides
SUICIDE is now the second leading cause of death for White, Black, and Hispanic children ages 13-16, behind automobile crash mortalities (CDC-WISQARS, 2023) The CDC found a 15% annual increase in suicide deaths among children ages 5 to 11 since 2013, Researchers at the Oregon Health & Science University report a similarly concerning dramatic increase in attempted suicides among children ages 10 to 12.
HOMICIDE is the second leading cause of death for children under the age of 18. Between 2019 and 2020, there was an alarming 28 percent increase in the homicide rate among all U.S. children. The ethnic disaggregation of these deaths showed the increase was 27.1 percent among Hispanic children, 24.3 percent among White children, and 32.6 percent among Black children.
Detailed Report
COVID-19 Updates
In 2020, COVID-19 became the most calamitous health crisis of our time, causing unprecedented hospitalizations, deaths, and disruptions throughout the world. According to the World Health Organization, the aggressive spread of the novel coronavirus resulted in the greatest disruption of education in history, affecting 1.6 billion learners in more than 190 countries and all continents, with the exception of Antarctica.
Click here for COVID-19 updates:
Extreme Weather
According to FEMA, “The wind speeds generated by some tornadoes are so great that designing for these extreme conditions is beyond the scope of building codes and engineering standards.”
This requires school administrators to work with architects and engineers to identify building refuge areas that will minimize injuries and deaths in the event that tornadoes or hurricanes strike an occupied building. This applies to similar structures where people gather, such as churches and camps.
Click here for severe weather updates:
Federal law defines hate crimes as targeted acts of physical assault, damage to property, bullying, harassment, verbal abuse or insults based on sex, ethnicity, disability, language, nationality, physical appearance, religion, gender identity or sexual orientation of the victim.
According to a 2020 FBI report, hate crimes and hate-motivated killings have grown to the highest level in more than a decade in the U.S.
Campus incidents targeting students of color and of different sexualities and religions have increased at an alarming rate.
Click here for DOJ updates
The U.S. Department of Justice
Hate Crimes
Domestic Terrorism
The Federal Bureau of Investigation
defines domestic terrorism as ...
The unlawful use, or threatened use, of violence by a group or individual based and operating entirely within the United States (or its territories), committed against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.
These groups are motivated by extremist ideology to threaten or commit acts of violence with the intention of spreading fear and disruption for political aims.
Click here for domestic terrorism updates:
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Purpose of the Course
The course seeks to empower school and non-profit leaders with information and tools needed to craft policies and procedures that reduce the deadly outcomes of chaotic events. The course uses a systems approach to provide leaders with the ability to access and coordinate national, local, district, community, and building resources. Further, the course provides students with theoretical and empirical explanations of the etiology of natural and human catastrophes.
Upon completion of the course, students are expected to:
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Explain occurrences, patterns, and outcomes of human-instigated traumas and natural disasters that affect K-12 schools, postsecondary institutions, and other public settings.
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Describe current best practices for mitigating, preventing, and resolving these events.
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Categorize emotional and physical reactions to trauma and identify responsive resources.
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Discuss the etiology of various acts of violence that occur in schools.
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Develop a crisis policy manual to sustain school and campus safety in times of crisis.
Course Syllabus
Important
Resources
Crisis Research
This section is regularly updated with current and historical information from trade publications and academic journals.
Pandemic Lessons
Severe Weather
Course Instructor
Dr. Olivia Boggs ----------->
