I've been wondering the same. We know the lifeboats are there in case of sinking, but we should familiarise ourselves with how they work/what supplies they have on board. Dare I say it, we need a drill to see how long it would take to get everyone to a lifeboat. We have fliers, natural and assisted who could then scout for land should the ship sink. Communication with and tracking of them would be the next big problem. I have one of them linked to my phone, but battery life and lack of power supply means it's unreliable.
In case of attack, as mentioned already, the school would be an ideal place to set up a defensive position for non combatants. As for the fighters, we could build on the patrol parterships and groups. Set up teams/squads and assign decks to each. Again communication would be key. If each team had at least one telepath or working comlink that would be ideal.