WORCESTER – Emergency intervention can be a tricky subject, especially when students are involved. But such situations are inevitable in any school environment, which is why the Worcester Public Schools has a plan in place including protocols for when 911 should be involved.
Emergency response and intervention dominated the agenda at the latest meeting of the School Committee’s Standing Committee on Teaching, Learning, and Student Success. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Marie Morse outlined how the district handles emergencies, highlighting key details of its approach.
The half-hour meeting explored two aspects of 911 involvement: medical emergencies and a social emotional crisis, although the latter proved to be the main topic of concern for the TLSS. Both scenarios occasionally involve the need for first responders, but the district employs different levels of internal response plans beforehand.
In the case of a medical situation, the district may employ EpiPens, CPR or other training and response techniques and tools where necessary to help manage a situation until emergency crews arrive. For social emotional crises, staff is trained in a variety of intervention techniques, including verbal and physical de-escalation.
Regardless of the scenario, the district has a quick response plan in place driven by effective communication that includes the involvement of parents and, occasionally, educators.
While medical emergencies were a big part of the discussion, the main focus was on social emotional wellbeing, which Morse said involves careful consideration of every aspect of the situation. The district utilizes a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) which helps provide a framework for the schools to identify and address students’ needs individually. Morse admitted that sometimes 911 is involved, depending on how extreme the situation becomes.
“We do call 911 as a last resort for when a student poses an immediate danger to themselves or others and all of our other interventions have been exhausted,” Morse explained. “So, we have preventative supports in schools we use, that may include mental health resources, counseling, wellness rooms, and we use these to help manage and regulate stress and social emotional needs.”
After each intervention, an after-action review ensures training and procedures were effective. The district also creates a support plan tailored to the student’s needs, helping them process the incident and prevent future triggers. While some incidents are isolated, others require long-term support. Ongoing monitoring and record-keeping assess whether the intervention and support plan are truly helping the student move forward.
Committee Member Vanessa Alvarez originally requested the topic be part of the TLSS agenda to facilitate a public discussion on what can often be a misunderstood reality in public schools and ensure everyone that the district has a plan of action in place for when these situations do arise.
“I know oftentimes we see kiddos who experience a behavioral episode and are often misunderstood,” said Alvarez. “I just wanted to clarify that we do have a system in place, and we aren’t calling 911 just because a student is feeling their fields out.”
Alvarez requested more details regarding statistics from within the Worcester Public Schools especially regarding where students fall in the MTSS tiers and specific data relating to the different quadrants in the district. Morse did not have much specific data on hand to present that night, but agreed to meet with Alvarez to help produce a document focused on her requests to eventually be presented to the TLSS and eventually the School Committee at large.
While the larger data points were unavailable, the meeting did provide some insight into some of the numbers especially when it comes to 911 involvement. District Director of Safety Matt Morse presented sample data that showed the most common 911 calls were just over a hundred for medical emergencies, many minor in nature or due to mental health or allergic reactions.
Reports for trespassing, assault, escalated parent interactions, social media threats and the like had the second most 911 calls with just over 80. Approximately 79 non-emergency reports included incidents on ParentSquare and social media while 17 incidents involved the fire department and were due to situations like car accidents, gas odors, or assorted fire alarm activations on school property.
Jason Bleau, a seasoned reporter from Connecticut’s Quiet Corner, has over 11 years of news media experience. He has worked as a news anchor for WINY 1350 AM, contributed to Stonebridge Press publications, and covered racing as a Press Box coordinator at Thompson Speedway. Outside journalism, he is a movie enthusiast, freelance film reviewer, banker, and solo musician. He can be reached at bleau.jason@yahoo.com
