CISA training urges trauma‑informed, developmentally appropriate drills and common language for K‑12 safety

A Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) virtual training for K‑12 leaders emphasized that drills should be part of a broader, trauma‑informed training program and that short, repeated practice and shared terminology improve school preparedness.

Don Hough, a member of the CISA School Safety Task Force and moderator of the session, opened by acknowledging the recent shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis and setting three objectives for attendees: planning and conducting effective drills, teaching emergency procedures developmentally and trauma‑informed, and providing practical, actionable resources.

Pat Hamilton, alliance director for the I Love U Guys Foundation, said drills help build "muscle memory" and surface gaps in plans. "The drill will expose those gaps that you have," Hamilton said, adding that schools should practice both high‑impact incidents and everyday disruptions so staff and students can respond smoothly.

Michele Gay, co‑founder of Safe and Sound Schools, urged a "no drama, no trauma" approach so exercises do not retraumatize students. Gay recommended soft launches for early‑year drills, tailoring exercises to ages and special needs, and involving multidisciplinary teams including classroom teachers, operations staff and school‑based mental health providers.

Both presenters recommended using common language across schools and responders, pointing to the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) as an example and advising repeated micro‑trainings—five‑minute conversations or quick "stop and think" drills—to normalize responses without creating anxiety.

The session highlighted model resources attendees can immediately adopt: the Adams 12 Five Star Schools reunification video, toolkits and guides from I Love U Guys and Safe and Sound Schools (including the 2025 SRP/SRM implementation guides), the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) Guidelines, and FEMA/NIMS courses (IS‑0100.c and IS‑362.A) to learn incident command language. Hamilton noted many of these resources are free and adaptable to different budgets.

Presenters emphasized community partnerships as a force multiplier. They recommended connecting with state Offices of School Safety, county emergency managers, Protective Security Advisors, public health and mental health partners, and faith‑based or nonprofit organizations to build networks and access technical and sometimes financial support. Hamilton and Gay cited a multi‑state Navajo Nation collaboration as an example of expanding local capacity through regular convenings.

On family communication, both speakers advised notifying parents in advance, offering translated materials and talking points, and framing drills as life skills rather than secret tactical plans. Gay noted I Love U Guys provides parent letters in 20 languages to support conversations at home.

The presenters also cited uptake metrics and success stories: Hamilton reported 5,500 downloads of materials in a 24‑hour period around back‑to‑school, and one described school accounted for roughly 500 students at an offsite evacuation within four minutes after practicing procedures. The session closed with CISA announcing upcoming trainings on Oct. 16 (behavioral threat assessment and MTSS) and Nov. 13 (layered physical security).

For practitioners, the key takeaways were to (1) integrate drills into an instructional training cycle with debriefs, (2) ensure exercises are trauma‑informed and developmentally appropriate, (3) adopt common language so schools and responders coordinate, and (4) leverage free national resources and local partners to build sustainable preparedness.

The webinar materials and referenced guides (SRP/SRM, PASS, FEMA courses) were made available through the session pod and the presenters' organizational websites; attendees were encouraged to download resources and complete the post‑event survey to receive participation certificates.