Safer Schools in an Age of Mass Violence: Back to the Basics of Public Health

Schools in the US are by and large safe environments where millions of our children are secure and thrive. Outbreaks of fatal violence like the recent shootings at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) are, fortunately, rare. In fact, the odds of a student losing his or her life to homicide are 50 …

Unanticipated Consequences of Pandemic Flu: School Related Issues: A Preliminary Literature Review

In the event of a pandemic flu outbreak, closing schools would be one of the most likely non pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) considered to contain the outbreak, consistent with social distancing theories (Hodge 2006, Germann 2006). Children in preschool and school-age groups are frequently observed to amplify transmission of many forms of flu (Bell 2006, Germann …

The New York City Principals Pandemic Flu Survey: Are Schools Prepared?

It will be only a matter of time before another influenza pandemic occurs. Pandemic flu refers to a novel human influenza virus that causes a global outbreak, or pandemic. Researchers cannot accurately predict the timing, severity, or source of the next pandemic, but are certain it would present a myriad of issues for the public …

Uncommon Sense, Uncommon Courage: How the New York City School System, Its Teachers, Leadership and Students Responded to the Terror of September 11

Eight public schools are situated within a quarter mile of Ground Zero with 9,000 students ranging in ages from three to eighteen years – grammar, middle and high schools. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001 in the midst of chaos and a relentless unfolding of tragedy, professionals of the Board of Education safely evacuated all 9,000 …

How Americans Feel About Terrorism And Security: Two Years After 9/11

Understanding attitudes, concerns and reactions of individuals and families is critical to emergency planning efforts on all levels. In order to have effective implementation of a disaster plan, people need to be confident in (a) the reliability of information from official sources, (b) the capacity of government to perform effectively in a crisis and (c) …