Sheryl Abshire, Ph.D. – CoSN ChairCTO - Calcasieu Parish Public Schools, Lake Charles, LA

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Expect and prepare

for the unexpected

IT Disaster Recovery Planning

Cameron Parish, Louisiana

Cameron ElementaryCameron Elementary

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Schools Run 24/7

• Evening use of facilities

• Backup reports running at off-instructional hours

• Students and parents accessing the district website around the clock

• Other activities and uses in your district?

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Reliance on Technology

• For instructional activities

• For student data and recordkeeping

• For assessment and accountability

• For internal and external communication with stakeholders

• Other areas of reliance in your district?

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District Objectives in Any Disaster

• Safety and welfare of students

• Safety and welfare of staff

• Protection of property and facilities

• Maintenance of essential services for as long as possible, shutting down least critical ones first

• Restoration of services - critical ones first - in the shortest amount of time possible

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Potential Disasters

• Natural disasters

• Violence, vandalism and school safety

• Man-made threats

• Digital threats

• Widespread medical emergencies and pandemics

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Cyber Security for the Digital District

• www.securedistrict.org/

• tools and information to assess and improve security of technology systems in order to protect safety of staff and students, contribute to educational mission of their schools and maintain community support- for Superintendents- For School Board members- for Technology Leaders

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Calcasieu Parish School System (LA)Disaster Background

• Hurricane Rita struck the Louisiana / Texas border on September 24, 2005 as a category 3 storm with 120 mph sustained winds. Calcasieu Parish was hit by the hurricane eyewall and the east quadrant which has the strongest winds.

• 34,000 students and 5, 000 staff displaced

• Every school damaged. Many schools in Calcasieu Parish received extensive roof and water damage. The lack of power afterwards promoted mold & mildew growth

• 24 hours after Rita hit, the CPSB web& email servers were back up andproviding information to evacueesacross the country

• 34 days later, CPSB schools reopened

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Calcasieu Parish School System (LA)

“A plan needs to exist before it is needed.

Making one on the fly is too late.”• You can’t over plan:

• Identify mission critical operations

• Think strategically

• Pay attention to detail

• Communications is critical

• Evaluate the effectiveness of processes

• Don’t think it will never happen to you

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Calcasieu Parish School System (LA)

• Many didn’t see IT as the recovery team – yet they took the initiative and were ready when disaster hit. Take the leadership if no one else is doing it.

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Mitigation and Prevention

Actions you take to identify preventable and unavoidable disasters and to address what can be done to eliminate or reduce the likelihood of a disaster and/or its accompanying risks

Cameron ParishCameron ParishSchool Board OfficeSchool Board Office

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Preparedness

Consideration of worst-case scenarios and development of comprehensive plan for coordinated and effective response to any given disaster

South Cameron HighSouth Cameron High

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Response

Execution of the preparedness plan and management of the disaster

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Recovery

Efficient and timely restoration of mission-critical operations and processes

Calcasieu Parish Schools Calcasieu Parish Schools LouisianaLouisiana

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Consider Lack of Availability of Key Services and Operations

• What must be restored within 1 hour?

• What must be restored within 4 hours?

• What must be restored within 1 day?

• What must be restored within 3 days?

• What must be restored within 1 week?

• What could wait for 30 days or longer?

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Performing a Risk Assessment

• Analyze processes and functions deemed mission-critical.

• Identify types of potential disasters and impact of each on mission-critical items.

• Prioritize based on acceptable period of unavailability.

• Chart the workflow, considering hardware, software, people and other resource requirements for continued operations.

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Format of the Disaster Recovery Plan

• Easy to understand and follow

• Organized into sections

• Detailed steps of tasks to be accomplished

• Multiple formats for different audiences

• Print and electronic

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Imagine worst-case scenarios for all types of potential disasters.

- What would be lost?- What data would be critical?- How would you communicate?- How would you restore mission-critical services?

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The worst case scenario . . .

NO PLAN!

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Communications Needed and Redundancies

• Assume all existing communication vehicles are unavailable.

• Determine what information will need to go out.

• Determine how information will be communicated to key response and recovery staff and to all stakeholders.

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People Needed and Redundancies

• Who is qualified to manage tasks?

• Have they been trained?

• What is their prior experience?

• Ensure key people resources are backed up.

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Develop a Staged Shutdown

• Move from simple preparedness to ceasing operations.

• Protect assets while staff is available to do the work.

• Ensure that mission-critical operations are the last to be stopped.

• Ensure shutdown can be reversed if needed.

From “Disaster Preparedness” presentation by Sheryl Abshire, Administrative Coordinator of Technology, Calcasieu Parish (LA) Public Schools, at the CoSN Conference - March, 2006

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Coordinating With Partners

• Technology providers

• Consultants

• Local emergency preparedness agencies

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Exemplary District Plans

Promising Practices in School Emergency Response- Fairfax County (VA) Public Schools

www.fcps.edu/emergencyplan

- Montgomery County (MD) Public Schoolswww.mcps.k12.md.us/info/emergency/

- North Carolina’s Critical Incident Response Kit Project

www.ncjjdp.org/cpsv/cirk/cirk.htm

Emergency Planning Office: Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, www.ed.gov/emergencyplan

Prepare to Stand AloneAssume no outside support or resources.

Develop a culture of self-reliance.

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Don’t just create a plan— communicate and practice it

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Practice, Practice, Practice

• Develop a culture of preparedness.

• Revisit and actively practice the plan.

• Conduct periodic audits of the plan.

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Redundancy, Redundancy, Redundancy

• Staff

• Power and capabilities

• Computer and storage options

• Facilities

• Records and files

• Communication methods

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“It’s not the plan that’s important—it’s the planning.”

- Graeme Edwards

About theConsortium for School Networking

(CoSN)

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About the Consortium forSchool Networking

• Founded in 1992

• National non-profit organization

• Premier voice in education technology leadership

• Mission Statement: The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) is the

country’s premier voice in education technology leadership with a

mission to serve as the national organization for K-12 technology leaders

who use technology strategically to ultimately improve teaching and

learning. CoSN provides products and services to support and nurture

leadership development, advocacy, coalition building and awareness of

emerging technologies.

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CoSN Leadership Initiatives

Cyber Security for the Digital District (www.securedistrict.org)

Data-Driven Decision Making (www.3d2know.org)

K-12 Open Technologies (www.k12opentech.org)

Taking Total Cost of Ownership to the Classroom

(www.classroomtco.org)

Development of the Council of School District Chief Technology

Officers (CTO Council) (www.cosn.org/resources/cto_council/)

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CoSN’s Members

School districts, state and local education agencies, nonprofits,

companies and individuals who share our vision.

Visit www.cosn.org or phone 202-861-2676 to find out more about

CoSN’s programs and activities supporting leadership

development to ensure that information technology has a direct

and positive impact on student learning in elementary and

secondary schools.

CoSN – Your voice in the future of education technology

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Essential Skills of the K-12 CTOCoSN’s CTO Council has produced a monograph,

“What It Takes: The Essential Skills of the K-12 CTO” (* - indicates those skills addressed in the

Crisis Preparedness: Leadership for IT Disaster Recoveryprofessional development materials)

This and other monographs from the CoSN Compendiummay be found at www.cosn.org

• Leadership and Vision *

• Planning and Budgeting

• Team Building and Staffing

• Systems Management *

• Information Management

• Business Leadership *

• Education and Training

• Ethics and Policies

• Communication Systems *

Sheryl Abshire, Ph.D. – CoSN ChairCalcasieu Parish Public Schools, Lake Charles, LAJason Hall, Cox BusinessLinda Sharp – CoSN