Effective emergency planning goes beyond compliance; the quality of a district’s emergency plan can mean the difference between a swift, coordinated response and confusion that puts lives at risk. It’s about building a culture of readiness—where every staff member knows their role, communication flows seamlessly, and vulnerable populations are protected.
Yet too often, critical gaps in planning leave schools exposed. Avoiding these seven common mistakes strengthens your preparedness and ensures your team is equipped to protect every student, every day.
1. Lacking Thorough Campus Risk Assessments
Campus risk assessments are essential for identifying potential hazards unique to a school’s location and environment. Schools must evaluate threats systematically to prioritize responses effectively.
Best practice to improve school emergency preparedness:
- Discuss probabilities of various hazards (e.g. natural disasters, human-caused events).
- Conduct assessments, including site, safety culture, threat, and capacity evaluations.
- Use findings to focus on the most likely risks and address gaps proactively.
- Identify emergency alerting and communication needs and core technologies.
- Include assessments of safety challenges unique to special events.
Pro tip: Having your list of emergency technologies on campus is the first step. Schools can take full advantage of their digital emergency response technologies to improve staff and student safety with an integrated safety ecosystem. Raptor Connect streamlines a school’s digital emergency response activations, speeding notifications and minimizing the impact of the situation.
2. Weak Communication Protocols
Clear communication plans are vital for managing emergencies effectively. Without them, confusion can disrupt timely response efforts.
Best practice to improve school emergency preparedness:
- Define communication roles and responsibilities for staff and responders.
- Include plans for pre-crisis training and drills, real-time updates during events, and post-crisis debriefing for students, staff, and the community.
- Regularly test communication systems to ensure reliability.
3. Insufficient Staff Training
Properly trained staff serve as the backbone of school emergency response. Many plans falter due to limited training opportunities for educators and other personnel.
Best practice to improve school emergency preparedness:
- Provide training during onboarding for new staff and updates for current employees.
- Include real-world simulations to reinforce theoretical knowledge.
- Offer to equip every team member for their responsibilities.
- Include training on reporting processes for accident reporting and hazard reporting.
“PublicSchoolWORKS provides robust training and professional development that will help keep our district–and all of our staff–compliant, organized, accountable, and informed. It will also help us think about how we can continually improve our operations to maintain safety and well-being across all of our school sites.” Barbara Malkas, Superintendent of North Adams Public Schools
View the Raptor Staff Compliance Course Catalog, powered by PublicSchoolWORKS, with over 750 expert-created courses.
4. Missing Opportunities for External Collaboration
Partnerships with community agencies enhance the quality of school emergency plans. Failure to collaborate with these external entities can lead to fragmented responses.
Best practice to improve school emergency preparedness:
- Engage local law enforcement, fire departments, and emergency services early in planning.
- Share plans with these groups, fostering familiarity among stakeholders.
- Collaborate on drills and include emotional safety considerations, such as anti-bullying strategies.
5. Overlooking the Needs of Individuals with Disabilities
Emergency plans must address the unique requirements of individuals with disabilities. Overlooking these accommodations puts vulnerable populations at risk.
Best practice to improve school emergency preparedness:
- Ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
- Incorporate provisions for accessible transportation, notifications, medical care, and sheltering.
- Test accommodations during drills to identify and rectify potential issues.
6. Neglecting Regular Drills
Routine drills and exercises are crucial for practicing emergency responses. Missed or poorly conducted drills can leave teams unprepared.
Best practice to improve school emergency preparedness:
- Organize school safety drill exercises tailored to different grade levels and school buildings.
- Coordinate with community responders to simulate realistic scenarios.
- Conduct evaluations after drills to identify improvements.
Practicing emergency response means more than drilling for the incident itself. Schools must also practice the procedures for reuniting families if an evacuation is necessary.
“Safety and security have always been part of my thought process as a district administrator. Ensuring that we’re safe, prepared, and ready for any event at a school is essential. The Raptor CSP training allows us to practice as close to a real event as possible. Raptor’s Reunification workflow is very organized and ensures we get kids back with the right parent. I look forward to practicing reunification every year moving forward.” Brent Jaco, Superintendent of Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD
Watch how Raptor Compliance and Success Program helps Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD practice their reunification protocols.
7. Failing to Review and Update Plans
Emergency plans must evolve as new risks emerge and lessons are learned. Outdated plans can quickly become irrelevant.
Best practice to improve school emergency preparedness:
- Set a review schedule to update plans annually or biennially at a minimum.
- Incorporate feedback from drills, exercises, and real incidents.
- Distribute updated plans to community partners and staff consistently.
Empower Your Team. Protect Your School.
Avoiding these mistakes isn’t just about fine-tuning a plan—it’s about creating a culture of readiness. With targeted efforts in risk assessment, communication, collaboration, and training, schools can create safer environments for students, staff, and the surrounding community.
Learn more: Read Raptor’s free guide to K-12 emergency management.
Related Resources
Every second counts when protecting students and staff, and the ability to respond effectively can make all the difference. Learn more in Strengthening School Safety with Multilayer Security.
