SCS TIG Finishes CRCS Manual

COBLESKILL - During their latest meeting on Monday evening, the CRCS Board of Education heard a presentation from the SCS TIG team on their latest Tragedy and Crisis Manual.

The team’s abbreviations stand for the Schoharie County Schools Trauma, Illness, and Grief Team, a county-wide response unit to all school districts that help students, staff, and the community cope with traumatic crises. 

According to the presentation, they were first established around eighteen months ago, when Superintendent Matthew Sickles obtained a grant from the state’s Office of Mental Health.

After conferencing with the other superintendents in the county, each district worked together to create the SCS TIG, where they now serve Cobleskill-Richmondville, Gilboa-Conesville, Schoharie, Middleburgh, Sharon Springs, Jefferson, and Duanesburg.

The presentation explained that any employed faculty member can be signed up for the team, whether they be a principal, secretary, nurse, or custodial staff, and they coordinate specialized groups of three to five members to serve specific schools.

While the CRCS team has been utilized twice this year, another one of their bigger projects is the comprehensive development of the Tragedy and Crisis Manual.

The manual is meant to serve as a quick reference in the face of a traumatic event, including a response checklist, leveled response procedures, commemoration guidelines, and a county-wide resource guide.

The manual will also come with TIG boxes to be equipped in each building, carrying a general emergency kit as well as a list of all students and staff, crayons, paper, nametags, and more.

The Board applauded the group for their work, with Board President Bruce Tryon saying “This is really important stuff. I appreciate Mr. Sickles’s vision for this, and you guys took it and ran with it. Thank you for doing that.”

Because the meeting was the first time the Board members got their hands on the manual, President Tryon stated that they will take a month to review it before its likely approval next month.