EAWR successfully completed its staff-only reunification exercise on September 25. No students or families participated; staff members served as student and parent actors throughout the exercise.
In approximately 90 minutes, our staff successfully moved and staged the student actors, confirmed accountability, loaded and transported them by bus to the reunification location, completed parent identification and release procedures, and reunited each student actor with the appropriate parent actor.
We greatly appreciate our District staff and the professionalism, cooperation, and attention to detail they demonstrated throughout the exercise.
Thank you to the Wood River Police Department, East Alton Police Department, and Hartford Police Department for assisting with and observing the exercise at both locations. Their participation allowed our staff to practice communication, accountability, transportation, interagency coordination, and reunification procedures under realistic conditions.
We also appreciate the East Alton School District leadership group for attending, observing, and learning more about the reunification process.
We sincerely hope we never have to use this process during an actual emergency. However, we will continue practicing, reviewing, and refining our procedures so we are prepared to keep our students, staff, families, and community safe and informed.
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