Dyson College of Arts and Sciences
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has only to examine the essential role they have played in our recent history to see the unique and ubiquitous role of public schools as centers for community support, shelter and communication. The vast majority of the education establishment has come to heedformer Secretary Ridge's warning that the community will never forgive arrogance, complacency or a failure to plan effectively for contingencies as it involves the safety of children (Ridge, 2012). Ridge went on to emphasize that as a result of 9/11 and the inevitability of another attack, leaders of all institutions, public and private, need to expand their relationships and definitions of community and forge the stepping stones to unity, inherent redundancy and resilience in our response to potential threats. During the past several decades, schools have assumed new and increasingly complex roles as community centers, clinics, and reliable shelters in times of natural or man-made disasters. Outside the police and military, no institution is more organized, practiced, and prepared to address the unexpected. Educational leaders and teachers understand their expanding roles as community leaders and rehearse at regular intervals, responding to myriad potential threats to public safety. Increasingly, we call upon our education professionals to train, practice and anticipate the question of what can happen and as James Featherstone noted, to prepare for the unexpected with plans that are "pre-, trans- and post-event" (Featherstone, 2012). Nationally recognized school administrative standards now demand that education leaders "develop plans of action for focusing on effective organization and management of fiscal, human, and material resources" (ELCC Standard, 3.3). Schools of education are focused on the preparation of professionals who understand and appreciate the value of extended community relationships and foster extensive networks of community partnerships. David Kaufman (2012) of Homeland Security emphasized the further development of information networks that link local residents with the school and its services in times of need. Resilience and resourcefulness are key components of effective educators and schools, and their professional employees are trained and disposed to community service in good times and bad. The notion of community engagement and support provides yet another important reason to keep the lessons and experiences of September 11, alive as key components of our national curricular priorities in universities and schools for many years to come. Tom Friedman (2005) reminds us that the ultimate resilience resides in the stimulation of a positive imagination to minimize alienation and celebrate interdependence rather than self-sufficiency. Openness, opportunity, and hope rather than limits, suspicion and grievance. While preparedness and security have taken on new and compelling significance, educators must never lose sight of the climate that created the vibrancy of our democratic society. In 2012, the challenge for educators is to maintain a keen edge of vigilance amid increasingly routine procedures to ensure safety and security. In celebrating and enhancing our resilience as a society, we must point the way toward preventing a return to lethargy as the pain and shock of 9/11 recedes in our memories. And finally, our leaders must continue to echo the sentiments of speaker after speaker at the Summit on Resilience that dedication to building networks of support and security are fundamental to our freedom. References Allison, Elle. The resourceful school. Educational Leadership, December 2011/2012, Vol. 69. Number 4. pp. 79-82 72