new west virginia department of...

West Virginia Department of Education

‘School Closure’ As a Counter Measure to Pandemic Influenza

Tabletop Exercise

After Action Report

October 2, 2007

Health EP&R LLC

366 Onyx Road ∙ New Oxford, PA 17350 ∙ Phone: (717) 4791324

West Virginia’s Department of Education School Closing Tabletop Exercise

AfterAction Report

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

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AfterAction Report Page iv


Table of Contents

Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................1

Chapter 1: Exercise Overview ..................................................................................................2

Chapter 2: Exercise Planning and Delivery .............................................................................4

Chapter 3: Issues and Recommendations ...............................................................................6

Chapter 4: Conclusion ............................................................................................................15

Appendix A: Improvement Plan Matrix ................................................................................16

Appendix B: List of Attendees................................................................................................26


AfterAction Report


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Executive Summary

In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tasked states with assessing their capabilities to respond to the impact of an influenza pandemic by initiating nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to countermeasure disease spread. One of the most effective NPI’s is the use of school closure. The West Virginia’s Department of Education’s (WVDE) “School Closing as a Potential Means to Counter Pandemic Influenza” Tabletop Exercise (TTX) was held to meet CDC’s request and to evaluate WV’s current state of readiness to use this NPI in the event of a pandemic event. This exercise was held on August 10, 2007, for invited state department administrators, local school administrators and program staff, and supporting state and local response partners to discuss concerns and issues for both operating and closing school systems under conditions of a pandemic influenza event.

This TTX was an opportunity to introduce participants to current emergency response policies and plan development from WVDE and other response agencies. This Afteraction Report (AAR) provides a summary of exercise discussions and makes recommendations for further consideration and inclusion in future emergency planning, procedures, and training.

The State of West Virginia Department of Education School Closure Tabletop Exercise was the department’s first emergency response exercise. It was an excellent opportunity to bring management staff together with other response agency representatives to discuss disease containment measures for an influenza pandemic. Discussions recorded that exercise participants demonstrated an initial capability to:

§ Identify State and Local education response issues that arise during a pandemic.

§ Identify plans, policies, and procedures that require updating or changing.

§ Share information about current pandemic response plans, resources, and capabilities.

§ Network and develop relationships.

Additionally, exercise participants identified several areas for improvement in both the State’s and local communities’ ability to respond to an infectious disease. Several key recommendations from exercise discussions include:

§ Continued development of working relationships across agencies.

§ Update and coordinate emergency response plans for state and local departments of education.

The WV Department of Education can use the results of this exercise to further refine plans, procedures, and train staff to prepare, respond, and recover from a pandemic event. Future pandemic response training and exercises should focus on applying lessons learned from this TTX and further promoting decisionmaking, communication, response roles and responsibilities, and community interaction among WVDE and other response personnel.


AfterAction Report Page 2


Chapter 1: Exercise Overview

Exercise Name The West Virginia’s Department of Education ‘School Closing’ as a Potential Means to Counter Pandemic Influenza Tabletop Exercise

Location Charleston Marriott Town Center 200 Lee Street East Charleston, West Virginia 25301

Exercise Date August 10, 2007

Type of Exercise Tabletop

Duration 7 hours

Focus Coordination of school closures in response to a communicable disease outbreak (pandemic influenza).

Classification X For Official Use Only X By Invitation Only

Exercise Participants Local Participants:

• Boone County Schools • Kanawha County Schools • Kanawha Health Department • Boone County Health Department

State Participants: • West Virginia Bureau for Public Health / Threat Preparedness • West Virginia Department of Education • West Virginia Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management • West Virginia Education Association • West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission


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• West Virginia State Police • Bluefield State College

Federal Participants: • N/A

Private Sector Participants: • American Federation of Teachers • Health E.P. & R., LLC

Number of Exercise Attendees

Participants: 39 Facilitators: 4 Evaluators: 3

Total Attendees 46

Exercise Coordinator Samantha Stamper, MS Risk Management and Student Safety Coordinator Office of School Facilities West Virginia Department of Education Building 6, Room 318 1900 Kanawha Blvd., E Charleston, WV 253050330 Phone: (304) 5582969 Email: [email protected]

Contractual Support

Jodi M. Kuhn, DrPH Ada Goldovsky, MPH Project Manager Consultant Health EP & R, LLC 366 Onyx Road New Oxford, PA 17350 (717) 4791324 [email protected]




Chapter 2: Exercise Planning and Delivery The TTX purpose was to provide State and local leaders within the education system a forum to discuss the topic of assessing School Closing as a potential means to counter a pandemic influenza outbreak. As well as, discuss how to operate West Virginia’s school system(s) under conditions of a pandemic (influenza) event.

As developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and accepted by the planning committee, the exercise objectives were:

n To provide a Public Information Exchange Forum for Pandemic Influenza Issues.

n To conduct a discussion to facilitate planning and to assess school closing as a potential means to counter disease spread related to a pandemic influenza outbreak.

n To provide valuable feedback for policy formulation at all levels of government.

In keeping with the CDC guidelines for pandemic influenza preparedness exercises, the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) conducted a tabletop exercise on deciding and activating school closures as a nonpharmaceutical counter measure to disease spread related to an influenza pandemic outbreak. Planning committee members met to review the CDC TTX template and to discuss minor variations for the intended audience. The exercise purpose and scenario were decided upon and the discussion questions were modified accordingly. The planning committee also discussed having a review of current WV polices on school closures to enhance participants’ discussion within their assigned groups.

Exercise Conduct

Dr. Pamela Cain, Assistant State Superintendent of Schools, set the tone of the exercise with her opening remarks. She explained to participants the importance of efficiency in responding to a novel virus in the community and worldwide. Samantha Stamper, WVDE Risk Management and Student Safety Coordinator, informed participants about why pandemic influenza is a concern to the community and reviewed federal planning and response measures. Dr. Jodi Kuhn, Health EP&R, LLC, was the lead facilitator and introduced the day’s agenda and scenario.

The exercise scenario was presented in three modules with CDC template videos simulating the national and local reaction to the pandemic influenza outbreak. After Dr. Kuhn presented the second part of the scenario where the novel virus entered the United States, Melanie B. Purkey, Executive Director of WVDE’s Office of Healthy Schools, reviewed State guidance for closing schools during emergencies.

Participants

Participants included invited representatives from WVDE and stakeholder agencies and organizations, defined as having school administration and/or other emergency response roles related to closing schools during an influenza pandemic. For this exercise, selected upper




management, WVDE representatives were invited to participate. This design decision intended to initiate preliminary discussion on issues related to the relevance and impact of initiating school closures during a pandemic event. Supporting agencies were invited to share details about their pandemic response plans and to discuss how they might support and/or be impacted by the decision to close schools. To encourage knowledge sharing of school policy and emergency response procedures, the planning committee requested that participants be randomly assigned to discussion groups.

Participants were provided the printed presentation, evaluation, and additional resources. During the exercise, participants were reminded of the reference resources provided in the binder. Following scenario two and three, participants gathered in preassigned groups to answer predetermined discussion questions. Each group then had a representative summarize key discussion points. Questions were addressed in the large group clarifying expectations. Following the exercise, a hot wash was conducted allowing evaluators and facilitators to review the group discussions and identify planning/response strengths and areas in need of improvement.

Evaluation

The exercise was designed to provide participants with an opportunity to discuss current capabilities to perform the decision to close schools and support that decision long term in the event of a pandemic influenza event. Through assessment of those capabilities, participants identified strengths, areas requiring attention, future training needs, and policy and plan development. In keeping with the nofault nature of this exercise, the evaluation embodied in this report examines the plans, procedures, and response systems utilized in this exercise. As an evaluated practice, agency discussion were observed and documented in order to make recommendations for future improvements. Observations focus on overall agency actions and the interaction between agencies, rather than on individual players.

For the group discussions, participants were separated into random groups with a facilitator and data collector. Facilitators guided each group’s discussions in line with the scenario module’s discussion questions. The data collector documented their group’s response ideas and topics. Information gathered from the exercise hot wash was also documented. These two forms of discussion notes were compiled and analyzed into issues. Recommendations for addressing the primary discussion topics were then developed. (A summary of issues and recommendations are reported in the following chapter.)




Chapter 3: Issues and Recommendations This AAR section summarizes exercise discussions into key issues and makes recommendations on how these issues might be addressed to enhance preparedness and response capabilities. Issues present exercise evaluators’ general reflection on response actions and significant issues discussed by the participants. These issues are categorized under the themes of: pandemic influenza preplanning, pandemic response, and pandemic recovery. The listed recommendations are suggestions that may be revised and/or adopted, based on available resources and planning priorities.

Pandemic Influenza PrePlanning

Issue 1: Local Planning Involvement

Summary: During the exercise, varying levels of knowledge and awareness about local planning and preparedness activities was noted among participants. Representatives who had attended or had knowledge of Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) activities and/or public health or homeland security exercises and/or meetings demonstrated a keen understanding of disease response planning and preparedness, along with the level of coordination that is being planned for effective response to a pandemic. Participants discussed the need for representation from the education system on LEPCs and on other emergency preparedness taskforces. This would allow for improved recognition of the needs, capabilities, and resources needed and available among all community agencies and organizations (including schools). For example, some communities are already considering the use of school buildings as alternate care sites, school staff as volunteers or support staff, and the use of school buses for transport and delivery of emergency provisions during a pandemic. There is an immediate need for school administrators to be involved in these planning discussions and to discuss WVDE coordination within the community and in support of WV’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) and Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR).

Recommendation 1: WVDE should request county superintendents designate a local school representative as a liaison to the LEPC and/or other local/regional emergency management taskforces.

Recommendation 2: WVDE should continue collaborative efforts through statelevel representation and participation in OES and DHHR emergency preparedness meetings, trainings, and exercises.

Issue 2: Recognition of Emergency Management Principles and the Importance of Preparedness Measures

Summary: This exercise provided a wonderful opportunity for people in the education system to network; learn from one another and from other State agencies concerning planning and response for a pandemic event. One participant even shared how she had reluctantly attended the exercise, but concluded that it was well worth her time because she was introduced to a new subject matter with recognized importance. Many participants were enlightened about the principles of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and how they support effective command,




control, and communication during an emergency. During the exercise, communication flowed freely between organizations, as awareness was raised and issues related to improved preparedness were identified.

Participants recognized that public media would be an excellent conduit to provide critical information and support for continuing education and instruction during school closure. It recommended that media representatives and several other groups be considered for inclusion in future exercises, including: local health departments, LEPC members, local offices of emergency services, school system principals, and county commissioners.

Recommendation 1: Continue to nurture the raised awareness for pandemic preparedness and response efforts by offering participants the opportunity to attend NIMS training and additional exercises.

Recommendation 2: Invite media and other listed representatives to future exercises.

Issue 3: Collaboration between Education and Law Enforcement in Pandemic Planning

Summary: Law enforcement was represented at the exercise. They discussed their plans level of preparedness. This was an excellent opportunity for WVDE and other agency representatives to see that pandemic influenza preparedness and response are not concerns for the public health and medical community. Law enforcement from sheriff’s departments to State police are key players in a pandemic response, specifically: isolation and quarantine enforcement; transport and distribution of medical resources, crowd control; closure of county borders; and overall public safety. WVDE is a key support entity in developing and delivering educational messages to support overall public awareness and safety. In some communities, school facilities may be used for alternate care facilities and law enforcement will work closely with education and health agencies to plan and provide building access, crowd and traffic control, security.

Recommendation 1: Continue to conduct collaborative efforts and dialogue between WVDE, public safety, health, and other emergency management agencies related to pandemic influenza planning and response activities.

Issue 4: Expectation that Federal and State Resources will be Available during a Pandemic Influenza Event

Summary: Participants mentioned that as long as the Governor declares a State of Emergency, resources will become available and make some of the decision making process easier. There is truth to this statement, yet it can establish a false expectation that resources will be readily available and that difficult times will be eased in a quick manner. Unfortunately with a pandemic influenza event, it is very likely that federal resources will be strapped as multiple states make Emergency Declarations.

This exercise revealed that some WVDE representatives were unfamiliar about typical emergency request and allocation processes and that they believed that many factors to support community response efforts will be taken care of by State and/or Federal sources. While it was discussed that the state will undoubtedly do what they can during a pandemic response, it will




likely be the responsibility of local responders to sustain themselves as much as possible, thus the importance of preplanning. West Virginia OES stated that they will also rely on the local community during an event to identify and prioritize their needs before resource request and allocation can be considered. OES and DHHR have to allocate resources based on prioritized needs from throughout the State. Unlike during a natural disaster where the State is able to support a disaster region, a pandemic infectious outbreak is expected to be wide spread and many resources will be limited or unavailable.

Recommendation 1: All agencies should inventory their own currently, available stock of supplies and identify resources that might be needed during pandemic event.

Recommendation 2: WVDE should identify potential surplus supplies, should schools be closed in a particular community and/or across the State.

Recommendation 3: WVDE and other agencies should share the results of this inventory status and anticipated resource needs with their local planners such as LEPC, Health Department, and Office of Emergency Services.

Issue 5: Decisionmaking and Authority for School Closure

Summary: During the TTX, participants discussed the need to review and/or develop educational policies and procedures for their effectiveness in supporting a pandemic event. An increased awareness of legal authorities to order closures, encourage staff participation, and address financial reimbursement would be useful in plan development for continuity of operations. There is a policy submission process that should be looked into before a pandemic event, especially if laws needed to be changed for emergency waivers. For school closure decisions, it was suggested that the best, most consistent approach would be for State Government to make a decision and communicate it through emergency management and the educational system. It was noted that there are currently 55 school systems in the state and it would be chaotic if each system made their own decision regarding closure. Participants discussed that the best approach for dealing with a pandemic influenza event is to have all schools close or none. It was suggested this concept should be shared with the federal government to discuss and plan collaboration and coordination efforts.

Recommendation 1: WVDE should review current policies (State and local) to determine if revisions are needed for addressing school closures during a pandemic.

Recommendation 2: WVDE and local jurisdictions should consider the necessary legal authorities that would be instituted during a pandemic event.

Recommendation 3: WVDE should develop and disseminate information describing the procedural process for deciding and closing schools during a pandemic.




Pandemic Influenza Response

Issue 6: School Closure Considerations

Summary: WVDE representatives acknowledged that when the news of influenza first hits the State, parents would be worried about keeping their kids in school and local Boards of Education would have to be effective at building trust and sending information home to parents. Currently, each local School Board decides when to close schools.

Triggering events for school closures seemed to be unclear for most participants, but for planning purposes these triggers must be further discussed and decided upon at some level. Some attendees felt that deciding the trigger for when schools should be closed will be a mute point, since the Governor would be involved to make the advisement and/or declare a State of Emergency. It was also mentioned that counties could also declare emergencies and don’t have to wait for a declaration from the governor. Some participants also felt that the trigger would happen ‘naturally’ as attendance would fall or if another county chose to close their schools.

Some participants stated that schools should be closed if the pandemic hit a neighboring state, regardless of a documented case in West Virginia. Other attendees shared if there were any deaths of students or staff, it wouldn’t take long to close a school system. It was indicated that school closing would likely take place long before deaths are counted.

Concern was indicated for the false alarm or “crying wolf” factor. Once a community experienced the first wave of the flu, second or subsequent waves might not be viewed as serious because “it didn’t affect me.” Parents often question a school system’s decision to close after the fact, when the event was seen not to have been as serious as expected. Yet, school systems have routinely decided to err on the side of safety – the decision to close may have been called too quickly or unnecessarily, but given the information available at the time it was the safest decision. It was stated that generally the Governor’s or State Health Officer’s decision to close schools would override a county’s decision or lack thereof.

Participants noted that they would not be going through the decisionmaking process alone. International, national, and state level experts and organizations are attuned to the global spread of viruses and will provide recommended response procedures and disease interventions.

Participants discussed that some standards for attendance may discourage sick students and teachers from staying home and taking care of their illness. For example, Kanawha County has initiated an attendance incentive for this school year and some staffers vowed to colleagues that they will come to work under any situation just to get the bonus. Shutting schools down would eliminate this desire to come to work under any circumstances and would, ultimately, minimize potential disease spread.

Recommendation 1: Determine which school closure triggers are relevant and address these decisions and procedures in current emergency response plans (All BioHazards Plan and/or Pandemic Influenza Plan).




Issue 7: Addressing Special Needs

Summary: Some exercise participants were surprised to hear about the variety of students’ special needs that school staff routinely support. A variety of supportive therapies are received through the school system to provide educational and lifesupporting assistance to schoolage children and their parents. It was noted that if schools were to close, affected students would then need home health care or to have a guardian provide these services at home. However, resources might not be available nor is everyone capable of performing such tasks. Likewise, family providers might be ill from the virus or expected to be at work to fulfill critical emergency functions.

Participants also stated that some students have medical conditions that would place them at higher risk to the influenza virus. Other students live in residential facilities specially designed to house and educate the deaf and blind. If schools are closed, definitive plans will need to be in place to address these and other special needs.

Recommendation 1: Conduct a needs assessment of schoolbased, special needs populations to identify population demographics, current support services, and resources.

Recommendation 2: Identify where and how support services and resources would be provided to these populations during school closure.

Recommendation 3: Conduct collaborative planning with supporting agencies to ensure available services and resources to these special needs populations.

Recommendation 4: Adapt current school closure plans and procedures to identify and prioritize plans for providing supportive therapies to special needs populations during school closure.

Issue 8: Continuity of Education during School Closure

Summary: Participants discussed that during a pandemic influenza event and recommended school closures that continuing educational instruction would be less of a priority. Federal WVDE standards and requirements would need to be adjusted. Participants recognized that there is a need to get back to instruction as soon as feasibly possible and they didn’t want to defer education any longer than necessary. However, they also realized that when survival and health were a priority, the hierarchy of needs within a community and its educational system also change.

Participants discussed that teachers creating lesson plans in anticipation of school closure might be unreasonable since there is no telling when in the school year the pandemic influenza event will occur. It may, however, be more reasonable if these plans are developed at the time when WHO and/or CDC report that the novel virus is likely to impact the US.

Use of media such a public access television or other television services was discussed as a means to continue providing education. Other ideas for providing for academic instruction, included: developing a kit for educational purposes; teacherrecorded lessons; WV ARIS, lessons




via Edline (a system where parents can get online to see student records), and/or providing instructions over the radio or Internet. Attendees noted that when attempting to provide instruction remotely, it is important to note that not all students have telephones or Internet access. Another challenge might be limited support from parents due to varying English language ability and/or literacy levels.

Recommendation 1: The WVDE should assemble a working group of administrators, teachers, leaders, and parents to discuss issues related to providing instruction during school closures.

Recommendation 2: Incorporate options and allocate resources for continuing educational instruction during school closures into continuity of operations planning.

Recommendation 3: Determine the means and assess the feasibility of providing instruction by remote access to all students (including those without telephone and/or internet access).

Issue 9: Food Resources for Students and the Community

Summary: Participants discussed that schools not only provide education they provide an array of other support services. It was mentioned that fiftytwo percent of children in some counties take part in free breakfast/lunch program. If schools close, where will these students get their meals? Exercise participants felt this question needed to be answered at the state level, as these types of decisions cannot be made at the local level.

The group discussed that schools can provide food and/or meals to the community as long as the buildings have electrical power. There was some discussion about how these resources could be prioritized and distributed to the community. Several related questions were raised: 1) will funding still be available after schools are closed? 2) Will employees still on payroll be required to work, even if school is closed? 3) If it is considered hazardous, can the state force staff and employees to work? 4) Will volunteers be used?

Participants discussed that some schools have planned for providing two meals a day to their students, but that these schools are still unsure as to how they will transport and/or distribute these meals. Boone County has designated one of their schools as an emergency facility and could land a helicopter in the vicinity. It was noted that some counties plan to use bus drivers for meal deliveries.

Exercise participants discussed the need to identify who is in charge during a pandemic and for the WVDE to coordinate and collaborate with emergency management. It was recognized that during an emergency when schools are closed, WVDE would provide support services since they will be unlikely to have the lead in providing “essential” services to maintain their community (and student) health and welfare. The resources that schools can provide are important for supporting critical community functions provided by other agencies, such the OES and the health department.




Recommendation 1: Preplans should be made for the use of current meal resources so they do not go to waste. These plans should be developed and coordinated starting at the State level and then involving each local Board of Education.

Recommendation 2: WVDE should hold discussions with labor representatives for teachers and service personnel to discuss plans for food preparation and/or distribution.

Recommendation 3: WVDE and community pandemic response plans should incorporate an inventory of available school resources (including food) and plans for preparation and/or distribution.

Recommendation 4: Further discuss policy considerations for developing plans to have education staff and personnel assist in preparing and distributing food to the community.

Recommendation 5: WVDE should contact the Department of Agriculture about their plans for food bank and/or stockpiles that might be used during a pandemic.

Recommendation 6: WVDE should work with the Bureau of Public Health and OES to look at countylevel processes and policies for creating food distribution plan.

Issue 10: School Staff as Available Resource

Participants discussed that if schools remain open; some facilities have a contingency plan which requires their participation in responding to an event. However, if school is closed, then schools really can’t require staff participation and response operations would need to rely on pre determined volunteers for support. There was some concern among exercise attendees about staff being able to perform response support functions if these were not listed in their current job description. It was also noted that teachers and services personnel have contracts that need to be evaluated to see if they would still be in affect if these personnel performed emergency response activities.

Participants also discussed that administrative staff only has sick leave and vacation days for missed work and if they are expected to work during an emergency, they would need compensation.

Recommendation 1: WVDE should hold discussions with labor representatives for teachers and service personnel to discuss policies or guidance regarding support roles (obligated or voluntary service) and/or benefit status during school closure.

Recommendation 2: Current personnel policies should be evaluated to see: 1) how they could be changed to support emergency duty pay for administrative staff and 2) how current employment contracts might be amended to allow for emergency functions that teachers and other staff might support.

Issue 11: Understanding the Incident Command System

Summary: It was evident from exercise discussions that the concept of Incident Command was new to most of the education representatives. They accepted the importance of it and the small




group discussions helped clarify its use in an emergency response. However, participants noted that they needed further information and education on this subject. Understanding ICS could increase understanding of response roles and decisionmaking, emergency response, communication, and delivery of critical services and supplies. Participants recognized that additional training in ICS could be used towards professional development and inhouse computers could be used to access online ICS courses.

Recommendation 1: WVDE should provide support and opportunities for staff to gain a basic understanding of the Incident Command System (ICS) and unified command.

Recommendation 2: WVDE should ensure that all staff is certified in the National Incident Management System (NIMS) since it is unknown how many backup positions will be needed during a pandemic event.

Recommendation 3: WVDE should continue promoting coordination with the various agencies involved in responding to a pandemic influenza event.

Recommendation 4: Designate a staff person as the Department of Education liaison to the State’s Emergency Operation Center (EOC) during emergency activation.

Recommendation 5: Encourage the county EOC director to participate in school sponsored training and exercises to further develop resource planning and agency collaboration.

Pandemic Influenza Recovery

Issue 12: Plans for Reopening of Schools

Summary: Most participants felt the decision to reopen school would be a simple one. They would look to the State Bureau for Public Health (BPH) the Governor, or CDC to provide the recommendation for when it will be safe to return to their school facilities. Participants discussed that local communities would wait to hear from their health departments. The mental health of students was a major concern for participants at this exercise. They wanted to make sure that parents and students felt secure that the facility was safe to return to, especially if it had been used as an alternate care facility, or morgue. Participants discussed that the school would have to be sanitized and that a recognized spokesperson would need to convince parents and school workers that the school environment was safe. They believed that local health officials would not have the credibility needed to convince the community. To provide reassurance to the community, it was recognized that a credible individual such a politician or other community leader would need to be seen on TV walking through the facility.

Mental health services would be needed to those retuning to the workforce as well. The whole community would have to heal and it is expected that many residents will know someone who had passed from the disease or that they had been sick themselves. School guidance counselors would need to access additional resources.




Issues that were briefly mentioned by exercise participants, included: how to maximize the services of limited staff, how will the legislature appropriate funds to schools to provide counseling, how will schools make up lost instructional time, and how will schools recover lost funds.

Recommendation 1: Collaborate with available health systems to discuss and plan for additional resources to support mental health services for returning students, staff, and faculty.

Recommendation 2: Add a section in the Pandemic Influenza Plan Annex addressing mental health support when reopening a school.

Recommendation 3: Develop additional continuity of operations plans to address limited staff, funding, making up lost instructional time, and other issues related to reopening schools following a pandemic.




Chapter 4: Conclusion

The School Closure Tabletop Exercise was an excellent opportunity to bring WVDE management staff together with other response agency representatives to discuss disease containment measures for an influenza pandemic. Discussions recorded that exercise participants demonstrated an initial capability to:

§ Identify Department of Education response issues that arise during a pandemic.

§ Identify plans, policies, and procedures that require updating or changing.

§ Network and develop relationships.

Additionally, exercise participants identified several areas for improvement in both the State’s and local communities’ ability to respond to an infectious disease. Several key recommendations from exercise discussions include:

§ Continued development of working relationships across agencies.

§ Update and coordination of emergency response plans for State and local departments of education.

The WV Department of Education can use the results of this exercise to further refine plans, procedures, and train staff to prepare, respond, and recover from a pandemic event. Future pandemic response training and exercises should focus on applying lessons learned from this TTX and further promoting decisionmaking, communication, response roles and responsibilities, and community interaction among WVDE and other response personnel.




Appendix A: Improvement Plan Matrix

Recommended Improvement

Responsible Party

Completion Status

Action Date

WVDE should request county superintendents to designate a local school representative as a liaison to the LEPC and/or other local/regional emergency management taskforces.

Accept Recommendation

In Progress or Completed

Reject Recommendation

Defer Action

WVDE should continue collaborative efforts through statelevel representation and participation in OES and DHHR emergency preparedness meetings, trainings, and exercises.




Defer Action





Responsible Party

Completion Status

Action Date

Continue to nurture the raised awareness for pandemic preparedness and response efforts by offering participants the opportunity to attend NIMS training and additional exercises.




Defer Action

Invite media and other listed representatives to future exercises.




Defer Action

Continue to conduct collaborative efforts and dialogue between WVDE, public safety, health, and other emergency management agencies related to pandemic influenza planning and response activities.




Defer Action





Responsible Party

Completion Status

Action Date

All agencies should inventory their own currently, available stock of supplies and identify resources that might be needed during pandemic event.




Defer Action

WVDE should identify potential surplus supplies, should schools be closed in a particular community and/or across the State.




Defer Action

WVDE and other agencies should share the results of this inventory status and anticipated resource needs with their local planners such as LEPC, Health Department, and Office of Emergency Services.




Defer Action

WVDE should review current policies (State and local) to determine if revisions are needed for addressing school closures during a pandemic.




Defer Action





Responsible Party

Completion Status

Action Date

WVDE and local jurisdictions should consider the necessary legal authorities that would be instituted during a pandemic event.




Defer Action

WVDE should develop and disseminate information describing the procedural process for deciding and closing schools during a pandemic.




Defer Action

Determine which school closure triggers are relevant and address these decisions and procedures in current emergency response plans (All Bio Hazards Plan and/or Pandemic Influenza Plan).




Defer Action

Conduct a needs assessment of school based, special needs populations to identify population demographics, current support services, and resources.




Defer Action





Responsible Party

Completion Status

Action Date

Identify where and how support services and resources would be provided to these populations during school closure.




Defer Action

Conduct collaborative planning with supporting agencies to ensure available services and resources to these special needs populations.




Defer Action

Adapt current school closure plans and procedures to identify and prioritize plans for providing supportive therapies to special needs populations during school closure.




Defer Action

The WVDE should assemble a working group of administrators, teachers, leaders, and parents to discuss issues related to providing instruction during school closures.




Defer Action





Responsible Party

Completion Status

Action Date

Incorporate options and allocate resources for continuing educational instruction during school closures into continuity of operations planning.




Defer Action

Determine the means and assess the feasibility of providing instruction by remote access to all students (including those without telephone and/or internet access).




Defer Action

Preplans should be made for the use of current meal resources so they do not go to waste. These plans should be developed and coordinated starting at the State level and then involving each local Board of Education.




Defer Action

WVDE should hold discussions with labor representatives for teachers and service personnel to discuss plans for food preparation and/or distribution.




Defer Action





Responsible Party

Completion Status

Action Date

WVDE and community pandemic response plans should incorporate an inventory of available school resources (including food) and plans for preparation and/or distribution.




Defer Action

Further discuss policy considerations for developing plans to have education staff and personnel assist in preparing and distributing food to the community.




Defer Action

WVDE should contact the Department of Agriculture about their plans for food bank and/or stockpiles that might be used during a pandemic.




Defer Action

WVDE should work with the Bureau of Public Health and OES to look at countylevel processes and policies for creating food distribution plan.




Defer Action





Responsible Party

Completion Status

Action Date

WVDE should hold discussions with labor representatives for teachers and service personnel to discuss policies or guidance regarding support roles (obligated or voluntary service) and/or benefit status during school closure.




Defer Action

Current personnel policies should be evaluated to see: 1) how they could be changed to support emergency duty pay for administrative staff and 2) how current employment contracts might be amended to allow for emergency functions that teachers and other staff might support.




Defer Action

WVDE should provide support and opportunities for staff to gain a basic understanding of the Incident Command System (ICS) and unified command.




Defer Action





Responsible Party

Completion Status

Action Date

WVDE should ensure that all staff is certified in the National Incident Management System (NIMS) since it is unknown how many back up positions will be needed during a pandemic event.




Defer Action

WVDE should continue promoting coordination with the various agencies involved in responding to a pandemic influenza event.




Defer Action

Designate a staff person as the Department of Education liaison to the State’s Emergency Operation Center (EOC) during emergency activation.




Defer Action

Encourage the county EOC director to participate in school sponsored training and exercises to further develop resource planning and agency collaboration.




Defer Action





Responsible Party

Completion Status

Action Date

Collaborate with available health systems to discuss and plan for additional resources to support mental health services for returning students, staff, and faculty.




Defer Action

Add a section in the Pandemic Influenza Plan Annex addressing mental health support when reopening a school.




Defer Action

Develop additional continuity of operations plans to address limited staff, funding, making up lost instructional time, and other issues related to re opening schools following a pandemic.




Defer Action




Appendix B: List of Attendees

Name Organization Sid Fragale American Federation of Teachers Bernadette Dragich Bluefield State College Roy Grimes Bluefield State College Andy Dolan Boone County Schools Brian Jarrell Boone County Schools Steve Bradley Boone County Schools Steve Pauley Boone County Schools Sue Peros Boone County Schools Jerry Rhodes Bureau for Public Health / Threat Preparation Kim Coleman Bureau for Public Health / Threat Preparation Matt Musgrave Bureau for Public Health / Threat Preparation Terry Shorr Bureau for Public Health / Threat Preparation Tim Stewart Cabell County Schools Bill Kershner Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management Celeste Hinzeman Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management Herb Lattimore Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management Ada Goldovsky Health E.P. & R., LLC Jodi Kuhn Health E.P. & R., LLC Brenda Isaac Kanawha County Schools Jimmy Lacy Kanawha County Schools Stella Young Kanawha County Schools Kathy Burgess Kanawha County Schools Richard Carte Kanawha Health Department Seth Staker Kanawha Health Department Ben Shew West Virginia Department of Education David Perine West Virginia Department of Education David Price West Virginia Department of Education Don Chapman West Virginia Department of Education Dr. Pamela Cain West Virginia Department of Education Gene Coulson West Virginia Department of Education Jim Slamick West Virginia Department of Education Kathy Knighton West Virginia Department of Education Ken Hugart West Virginia Department of Education




Liza Cordiero West Virginia Department of Education Matt Kittle West Virginia Department of Education Melanie Purkey West Virginia Department of Education Rick Goff West Virginia Department of Education Samantha Stamper West Virginia Department of Education Bill McGinley West Virginia Education Association Daniel Crocket West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission Ray Stonestreet West Virginia State Police Scott Beane Kanawha County Schools

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