Eye on ECCS: Reunification Drill prepares district staff for the "what if"

There is no easy way to prepare for a crisis, nor is there a 100% foolproof plan that goes without issue. There is only practice, preparation, and people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and do the work. “When I came to the district a couple years ago, we looked at our staff emergency alerting and communication tools and decided we wanted to up the game there,”  Matt Haga, Director of Safety, Security, and Technology at Eastern Carver County Schools said. 

On July 28, more than 80 Eastern Carver County School staff members and parents gathered to practice what is called a “Reunification Drill” – a process by which schools, during a mass evacuation scenario due to chemical, natural, and/or criminal activity, systematically work in teams to account for and safely reunite students with their parents and/or guardians. While many schools across the country have adopted such a procedure, very few have practiced it, and even fewer are prepared when the time calls for it. 

Dr. Erin Rathke, Superintendent of Eastern Carver County Schools, said, “We never really want to have to do this for real, but we absolutely want to make sure that we’re prepared for our students and families should the need arise” 

When asked about the importance of practicing safety and security for such a rare occurrence, Haga said, “I don’t enjoy that we have to talk about it, and I say that not just as a district employee, but as a district parent.  The safety and security of our schools is our number one priority.  It’s also important to understand that most evacuations aren’t happening because of a tragic event.  No matter what the reason, we need to be able to reunify families properly.” 

As district employees gathered around tables ready to listen and learn, Dr. Rathke opened the session with words of encouragement, noting that even if it wasn’t perfect the first time and things were messy, preparedness is key. “We’ve had incidents close to our community that make it real for our kids and for our parents. Making sure that our whole district is prepared, if we ever had to do something like this, helps us assure parents and students that we’re taking their safety very seriously.” 

Haga led the training session in partnership with Raptor Technologies - whose software many school districts (including ECCS) rely on for crisis communication and response protocol. Together, ECCS and Raptor discussed the importance of structure during a crisis, potential scenarios in which reunification would be necessary, and how to best react when a crisis occurs. 

Once familiar with the processes, staff then ran Reunification drills. Divided into teams and assigned the roles of staff, students, and parents – with the help of additional parent volunteers – groups then roleplayed through reunification scenarios. To make the experience more immersive, roleplayers displayed a variety of temperaments and communication barriers. Things were clunky at first – but with time, participants found their rhythm. 

After the first drill, many teams were quick to note inefficiencies in their process as well as potential inequities. There was great enthusiasm for drill number two to see what improvements could be made, and how they could better center students and parents in the process. No drill was perfect, but all staff members left with an improved sense of confidence and an idea of how to respond should the need arise.

Dr. Rathke shared her pride for the collaborative efforts of the day’s participants, noting that “It was great to watch them lead and work together to make sure that we had a strong process in place.” Both Dr. Rathke and Haga noted that this is the first of many opportunities for the District to practice, develop, and improve their safety and security procedures, and that they will always strive for the highest level of preparedness possible.