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Maryland Center For School Safety

After Action Reviews

An after-action review (AAR) is a method used to facilitate a collaborative discussion that evaluates and analyzes the actions and management of an event or incident. The AAR meeting is a way to capture multiple event and response perspectives from school staff, school safety employees, and other pertinent people. During the meeting those participating will consider actions for the scope of the event, key decisions, and communications. 

The AAR process (discussion and report) identifies what went well and what could have gone better to identify lessons learned that nform the future.

After Action Review (AAR) process

  1. Respond to the Event

    When responding to an event it can be helpful to have a person documenting times and actions.

    Consider what tier the event would fall within on the AAR tool.

  2. Hold the AAR meeting

    Identify key stakeholders who can provide insight into the event and response.

    Arrange a convenient time to meet that allows for emotional regulation but memories are still fresh.

    Use the AAR tool to sequence questions and capture the key details.

  3. Make a Growth Plan

    The AAR tool captures what went well to maintain existing practices in addition to identifying areas in need of future changes for improvement.

    Identify improvement priorities and make a plan to include timelines and people responsible. 

MCSS guidance on conducting the AAR

Incident Tiers

The Maryland Center for School Safety (MCSS) identifies three tiers of incidents where an AAR is beneficial for Local Education Agencies (LEAs). Implementing an AAR for each tier type is recommended as it encourages continuous improvement in safety preparedness. These tiers are categorized as Tier I, II, and III and are defined below. Tier III incidents identified as critical life-threatening (CLT) incidents require an AAR process with submission to MCSS. 

  • Tier I  incidents involve preplanned events within the school, such as field day, open house, parents conferences, prom, graduation, etc. MCSS does not require an AAR for Tier I events; however, school officials may find it helpful to use the form as a way to capture what went well and ways to improve for the next event. The AAR tool documents the discussion and generates a PDF report for you to save.
  • Tier II incidents involve an unscheduled event that disrupts school activity or creates a risk to the school, staff, or students. The event does not rise to that of a critical life-threatening incident, therefore is not required to be reported to MCSS. Some examples of tier II events would be; weather-related emergencies, an escalated adult on the property, incidents with minimal staff and student involvement, etc.
  • Tier III  incidents involve a life-threatening event that triggers the legal requirements as a critical life-threatening (CLT) incident. These events are required to be reported to MCSS within 24 hours of the occurrence and the AAR process must include MCSS staff. See the CLT page for more information.