Parents/Guardians,
I hope your school year is going well! I want to update you on our continuing efforts to improve school safety and security. We will be conducting an Evacuation/Reunification drill on the afternoon of Friday, September 22nd, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. A reunification drill is a drill where we reunite you with your children in a formalized control manner after an off-site evacuation. The last time the district did a reunification drill was in 2018.
We will use protocols from the I Love U Guys Foundation, which was created in 2009 by Ellen and John Michael Keys after their family experienced tragedy in Park County, Colorado. Additional information can be found at https://iloveuguys.org/standard-reunification-method/
Although this drill is complex, the planning is time-consuming, and it will disrupt parents’ normal schedules, it is extremely important for our stakeholders to understand how we would reunite our students with their caregivers in an actual event. Whether it is a gas leak, tornado, fire, or some other catastrophe, we need to be prepared to reunite students with their parents/guardians. By practicing this event, we hope to reduce the chaos, stress, and anxiety of everyone involved, should there ever be an actual situation.
Once the drill has begun, you will receive a phone message, as well as notification through social media, indicating this is a drill, that the school is being evacuated, and all students are heading to respective Reunification areas (Glasford Baptist Church for grades 6-12 and Glasford Methodist Church for grades PreK-5). Information will also be available on the district's Facebook page and the district website.
In order for our drill to be successful, there are a couple of steps we would ask that you do to help us:
Ensure we have up-to-date information in TeacherEase that includes accurate phone numbers and names of authorized people who are able to pick up your child.
On the day of the drill, please be sure to bring your picture ID.
In the event that you need an emergency contact to pick up your student, please let them know they will need to bring their picture ID.
We place safety first, above all else. This drill will help us prepare for an emergency should one occur. Thank you in advance for supporting this effort. If you have any questions, please contact your child’s school office.
Resources:
Parent information video: bit.ly/44tdZTn
Reunification drill information: bit.ly/45P6HKH
Sincerely,
Dr. Roger Alvey
Superintendent