Page 22 - The Edge - BTS 2019

SUMMER CONFERENCE AND EXPO

BY DON HARRIS

Reuniting Kids with Families After

an Evacuation Can Be Stressful
Kaylee Sorensen

If the need to evacuate your school
arises, getting everyone out safely is the
No. 1 priority, and the next step – reuniting
parents with their children can be stressful
as well.
In a breakout session at AASBO’s
Annual Conference and Expo on
July 18, Kaylee Sorensen, Emergency
Management Consultant with e Trust,
and Tom Foster-DeOro, Risk Manager,
Cartwright School District, told how to
plan for a successful reuni cation.
“Reuni cation,” said Foster-DeOro, “is
the controlled release of students to their
parents due to an abnormal circumstance
at school. It can occur on-site or o -site,
depending on the situation.”
Their presentation focused on four
elements: places, people, supplies and
problems.
e need to get children back with the
parents could be triggered by such things
as a shooting, re, gas leak, chemistry lab
spill, building collapse or power failure.
Being confronted by an active shooter
incident can be extremely dangerous,
but rare – power outages are much more
common.
In a reuni cation plan, the rst thing
to consider is a place. “How far away is
your o -site reuni cation site?” Sorensen
asked. “You want it far enough to avoid
rst responder tra c, and close enough
for parent familiarity. Is it large enough for students and
sta ? Is there room for parking, especially for parents?
Are there enough restrooms? Can it be secured? Are “Ask neighboring districts what they
there securable gates? Is there fencing?”
If another school is chosen, you should consider use. Higley has a great trailer, Scottsdale
if the in ux of your students will disrupt that school’s has a bus. See what others are doing
normal operations. Sorensen also recommended that
whatever place is selected for reuni cation, school and what they include.”
o cials should make sure the media does not have
access to the children. — Kaylee Sorensen, Emergency Management
Consultant with The Trust

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