…in late January and early February, Dr. Loring Miner had… concerns. One patient presented with what seemed common flu symptoms, although with unusual intensity… then another.… and another… all on isolated farms.⁽¹⁾

An influenza outbreak, as with some natural disasters such as hurricanes, can usually be detected from a distance, so preparations can begin early. To begin those preparations, and manage the school district activities during the event, which could last several weeks, a school district should rely on its Incident Command System, just as it would during an immediate response incident such as a bomb threat.

…Camp Funston, the second-largest cantonment in the country, held on average fifty-six thousand green young troops. The camp was built at the confluence of the Smoky Hill and Republican Rivers, where they form the Kansas River… Men inducted into the army from Haskell County trained at Funston. There was a small but constant flow of traffic between the two places. On March 4 a private from Funston, a cook, reported ill with influenza at sick call. Within three weeks, more than eleven hundred soldiers were sick enough to be admitted to the hospital…⁽²⁾

Credible threats to schools demand response – immediate, time driven, community-based response. The building administrator determines the initial tactical response; the superintendent starts the strategic response; the community responders start the problem response. An influenza outbreak demands a different kind response, one that becomes a proactive campaign rather than reactive.

……a river of soldiers moved between Funston, other army bases, and France. Two weeks after the first case at Funston… influenza surfaced at both Camps Forrest and Greenleaf in Georgia… In total, twenty-four of the thirty-six largest army camps experienced an influenza outbreak that spring. ⁽³⁾

Initial school activities to address an influenza pandemic should begin as the first outbreaks are reported worldwide, even before local health officials start notifications and activities. The school command team can start preparations with vital but low-key tasks that position their schools to continue learning, even if the outbreak causes massive disruption to the normal school schedule. The key to appropriate campaign management is a strong incident command structure and a way to manage the myriad tasks over several weeks.

Empowered Learning Inc.’s Infectious Disease Response Procedures appendix for Safe School Plans, outlines the steps to be taken before, during, and after an influenza outbreak. It includes a list of tasks for school command, logistics, planning, and public information to implement during those first warnings about a possible pandemic.  The campaign management matrix outlines command, tactical response, strategic response, and public information activities to consider during a pandemic.

The Infectious Disease Response Procedures also includes specific campaign tasks assigned to each Incident Command staff member.  The duties address the full range of responsibilities to address a flu outbreak over many weeks, particularly those tasks related to continuing educational activities through distance learning and preparing schools and staff for re-opening classes when possible.

In additional to the Infectious Disease Response Procedures, Empowered Learning is offering an implementation service that includes:

• Review of the current Safe Schools plan and recommend
• ations for placement of the Infectious Disease Response Procedures into that plan
• Phone and web-meeting consultation to customize the Infectious Disease Response Procedures to a specific school district
• A web-based training exercise for school system executive staff

To begin the process of integrating Empowered Learning¹s Infectious Disease Response Procedures into your Safe Schools Plan, Click Here.

^(1)(2)(3)Excerpts about the 1918 flu pandemic are from John M. Barry’s The Great Influenza, Penguin Books, 2004