Crisis in the context of a school has many unique features related to the social structure and sense of community within schools. A school crisis exposes children and staff to threat, loss, and trauma that undermine the safety and stability of the entire school. Crisis intervention has as its explicit aim the goal of providing immediate support to reduce the initial psychological impact of trauma, reestablish immediate coping, and prevent the development of long-term impairment. In the schools, immediate support is intended to facilitate recovery for the students and the school community. Unfortunately, an examination of the research literature on crisis intervention reveals mixed outcomes regarding the effectiveness of early intervention for individuals experiencing a crisis. Rather than try to resolve all of the issues surrounding the effectiveness of early crisis intervention, in light of the increase of Columbine-type and other forms of unanticipated school violence, this article is divided into two sections. The first part reviews what is known and unknown about the effectiveness of the most prominent model for crisis intervention, whereas the second section offers practical suggestions for educators as they seek to develop school-based crisis intervention policies for their schools.