EMA Director Michelle Clements-Pitstick said the countywide reunification team will be the first she knows of in the state and will ensure that everyone is informed of how to respond to a scene and will help only where they are needed and not create an “alternate burden on an impacted school.”
Clements-Pitstick said the county has long used I Love U Guys’ plans and templates but has never brought in formal training. She said this solidifies the collaborative efforts among the schools and county and state officials
“Over the past few years, Clark County EMA has assisted in four real-world reunification processes for various reasons, working closely with all our schools to prepare for crisis situations,” Clements-Pitstick said in a release. “Having trained personnel is critical, and we are appreciative that Springfield City School District wanted to partner with us on this collaboration.”
The I Love U Guys Foundation was started in 2006 by Ellen and John-Michael Keyes after their daughter was killed in a school shooting, according to the foundation’s website. A text she sent her mother that day read “I love u guys. K.” The foundation aims to “restore and protect the joy of youth” with educational programs and “positive actions in collaboration with families, schools, communities, organizations and government entities.”
Reunification is needed following school evacuations that can follow large disasters like the Northwestern School bus crash in August, or others like gas leaks, nearby SWAT team activity and SWATting incidents, Clements-Pitstick said.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Clements-Pitstick said the training will help local schools and county officials to “more effectively respond and get the kids back with the parents” as quickly as possible.
On Tuesday, attendees will learn in a classroom setting, starting at the very basic of reunification practices. On Wednesday, attendees will take part in an exercise, with one half of attendees playing the role of school personnel and the other playing parents in a reunification scenario. They will switch places after performing the exercise once in order to allow participants to learn all sides, Clements-Pitstick said.
The training will cover the Standard Response Protocol and the Standard Reunification Method.
“That is our goal, to get everybody prepared because not all the schools have had to do this before,” Clements-Pitstick said.
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