Recovery refers to the restoration of the learning and teaching environment, as well as a return to social-emotional wellness after a crisis. The goal of recovery is to return to learning and restore the infrastructure of the school, as quickly as possible. Focus must be on students, staff, and the physical plant.
Officials must realize that, depending on the crisis, recovery can take a significant amount of time. Experts agree that when a school community undergoes a crisis, it is important to return students to learning as quickly as possible.
One of the major goals of recovery is to provide a caring and supportive school environment. School staff should be trained to manage the emotional impact of the crisis, as well as to initially assess the emotional needs of students, staff, and responders.
It is important to recognize that it is not possible to foresee in advance of a crisis, all that will be required for a successful recovery. However this page lists several critical resources that may be helpful to districts suffering from a critical incident.
The resources on this page are referenced in the STARS Toolkit 2nd Edition, and can be used as handouts (where appropriate) to assist school personnel and effected families in understanding and responding to an incident, including death, tragedy, stress, coping skills, grief, and trauma.
