Student and staff safety continues to be a focus for the Melcher-Dallas school district. The Melcher-Dallas staff took part in a safety training exercise during profession development on Monday. This is just one of many trainings and drills the staff has taken part in this year. The district is partnering with local emergency responders to train and improve safety and communications.
The focus for Monday's training was Reunification. Reunification is the act of connecting students back with their parents after an event takes place. There are many types of events that can cause the need for reunification, not just an intruder or "bad guy." A fire, weather event or chemical spill from an anhydrous tanker are just a few examples. In fact, we have had two reunifications take place at MD recently. Three years ago we had a gas leak at the elementary during which we evacuated students and staff to the high school and reunified the students with their parents. Last year, the water tower was unexpectedly drained for maintenance and we had to send students home because we had no water.
During the training, which included teachers, associates, cooks, janitors, secretaries, bus drivers, substitute teachers, volunteers and administrators, we learned about all of the roles necessary to make the reunification go as smoothly as possible. Then, we split into three groups and practiced a reunification drill three times. Each group took a turn in each of the three roles of parents, students, and school staff. As with anything, we got better with practice, and by the third time it went very well.
We would like to send a special thank you out to Jeff Anderson and Emily Feagins from Marion County Emergency Management, and John Stedddom, from the Pella school district, for planning the training and teaching our staff about reunification.
Picture of staff preparing to conduct the reunification drill.
Staff preparing to role play as students during the drill.
Staff preparing to role play as parents during the drill. They did a good job of acting as concerned parents. Mrs. Fay deserves an Emmy!