Reunification

Circumstances may occur at the school that require parents to pick up their students in a formalized, controlled release. The process of controlled release is called a reunification and may be necessary due to weather, a power outage, hazmat, or if a crisis occurs at the school. We understand that this will be inconvenient for some of you. SAFETY for our students is our first priority. Successful reunification is highly more likely when there is practice and drill conducted in advance of an incident.  The importance of this process cannot be overlooked.


First – Why a Reunification Drill.

As a school, we have been practicing the drills from the Standard Response Protocol – the emergency drills we adopted from the I Love U Guys Foundation. As with the fire drills that have been practiced for so many years, a lockdown, lockout, shelter in place and now evacuation are being practiced.
The following information is from the iloveuguys website.
One critical aspect of crisis response is accountable reunification of students with their parents or guardians in the event of a school crisis or emergency. The Standard Reunification Method provides school and district safety teams with proven methods for planning, practicing and achieving a successful reunification.

Why Bother?

Crisis recovery starts with the crisis, not after. Without a plan to reunite students and parents, more than just the mental health demands which accompany a crisis are ignored; the responsibility of the school and district in maintaining the chain of custody for every student can be lost. No school is immune to emergencies; fires, floods, tornadoes, blizzards, power outages, bomb threats, acts of violence... this is just a short list of events that could initiate a release and reunification for a school or district.

A predetermined, practiced reunification method ensures the reunification process will not further complicate what is probably already a chaotic, anxiety-filled scene. In fact, putting an orderly reunification plan into action will help defuse the emotion building at the site.