At Cache County School District, the safety and well-being of our students is a top priority. On Friday, May 27th, district employees, the North Logan City Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and Cedar Ridge Elementary School staff, students, and families practiced a reunification drill to better prepare for potential emergencies. Reunification is a process where students are reunited with their families after being evacuated from their school during an emergency, such as a natural disaster or a crisis at or near the school.
For the reunification drill, students from Cedar Ridge boarded buses and were brought to the practice reunification site, the Cache Events Center. Students were organized into grades and classrooms and then sat down to watch a movie and chat with friends while they waited for their parents to pick them up.
When parents arrived at the reunification site, they practiced completing the four steps of the district’s family reunification process. First, parents filled out a student release form for their child at the Request Gate. Then, volunteers verified parental custody and checked picture IDs. While a runner took the form to the Student Holding Area to get the student, parents waited in the Reunification Area. After the student was reunited with their parent, they proceeded to the Release Gate, where the parent’s ID was checked once again before they were free to go.
According to Curt Jenkins, CCSD Director of Student Services, these drills are a great way to ensure that students, families, and employees are familiar and confident with the reunification process in case of an emergency. "Emergencies can happen at any time. Separation from a loved one during or after an emergency can have devastating mental and emotional effects on children and their families,” Jenkins explained. He continued, “The goal of family reunification is to reunite students with their families as quickly as possible to minimize the trauma.”
If or when an emergency arises, CCSD has a plan in place to keep students safe and reunite them with their parents, if necessary. To learn more about the CCSD reunification process, visit our website. CCSD Family Reunification page
