| Summary: | <p> The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify the critical information components that school leadership and first responders in K-12 schools must receive to support decisions leading to successful outcomes with managing critical incidents. Critical incidents are instances that range from a rumor of an incident may or may not happen such as manmade, natural disasters, severe weather, active threat or active shooter. These types of incidents can begin without a warning or notice, which conveys the essence of this study on preparing school leadership to manage critical incidents in K-12 schools. Methods for planning, preparation, and communication of critical information to school leadership and first responders were explored. There were 13 school leadership and seven first responders who were experienced in managing critical incidents in K-12 schools and were interviewed face-to-face or by telephone. The participants responses were recorded, transcribed, and evaluated to identify common themes identifiable to managing critical incidents. The rate of reoccurrence of word frequency were used to sort the interview transcripts. The analysis of the interviews revealed six themes; managing critical incidents/experience; planning/preparation; collaboration; communication; emergency crisis management team/implementation; and debriefings. School leadership for K-12 schools can gain understanding related to critical incident response and advance communication because of these findings.</p><p>
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