Skip Navigation

Institution: CLOCKSS Sign In as Personal Subscriber
Right arrow Return to article


TABLE 1. School-Based Crisis Intervention: Historical Timeline of Critical Events

Date Location Event and brief description

1851 NYC, NY False fire alarm at Greenwich Avenue School
Death toll: 40 children died exiting the building
1901 New York NY governor mandates school fire drills
March 4, 1908 Collinwood, OH Fire destroys Lake View Elementary School
Death toll: 172 children, 2 teachers, 1 rescuer
May 18, 1927 Bath, MI Man-made explosion destroys school
Death toll: 45 (38 children)
Injured: 58
March 18, 1937 Rusk County, Texas Gas explosion destroys New London Consolidated School
Death toll: estimated 300
1950s United States School duck and cover drills
Initiated by the DOE
Goal: protect children from nuclear attacks
Formed basis for today's earthquake and tornado drills
December 1, 1958 Chicago, IL Fire in Chicago's Our Lady of Angels School
Death toll: 92 children and 3 nuns
Injured: 77
July 15, 1976 Chowchilla, CA School bus hijacking
1 bus driver, 19 girls, and 7 boys (ages 5–14)
All survived
Terr (1979, 1981, 1983) followed children's post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, emphasizing need for emotional first aid following trauma
October 17, 1989 San Francisco Bay Area, CA Loma Prieta earthquake
Red Cross creates new division of services: DMHS
Note: In 2005 Red Cross developed training specific to children's needs
April 19, 1995 Oklahoma City, OK Explosion of Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
Death toll: 168 (19 children)
Injured: over 500
Disaster precipitates development of NEAT
Note: NEAT (aligned with National Association of School Psychologists) supports children and schools
May 21, 1998 Springfield, OR Thurston High School shooting—Kip Kinkel (expelled student), opened fire in school's cafeteria
Death toll: 2 students
Wounded: 25
Kinkel also murdered his parents
Clinton requested the DOE to develop guidelines to prevent tragic violence in U.S. schools
August, 1998 Government Publication: DOE publishes Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools (Dwyer et al., 1998)
April 20, 1999 Littleton, CO Columbine High School Massacre
Death toll: 15
Injured: 24
Galvanizes federal and state support for safe schools
Clinton initiated national conferences on school safety
May 16, 2003 Rod Paige, U.S. Secretary of Education, announced publication: Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Schools & Communities
DOE models school crisis plan—expands beyond school violence, includes a variety of school crises
September 1–3, 2004 Beslan, Russia Armed terrorists held school hostage for 3 days
Death toll: 344 (186 were children)
Injured: hundreds
Hickock, U.S. Education Deputy Secretary sent policy letter to U.S. school administrators, highlighting need to enhance school security
October 2, 2006 Nickel Mines, PA Amish school shooting
Death toll: 5 female students
Wounded: 5 female students
Shooter commits suicide





Right arrow Return to article