Clark and Cowlitz County first responders to join in the drill on Fri., March 6
WOODLAND — Woodland Public Schools, along with Clark and Cowlitz emergency response personnel and law enforcement, will hold a Reunification Drill on Fri., March 6.
Reunification protocols are utilized when an event renders a campus or a portion of a school uninhabitable due to physical damage or other circumstances such as flood. A designated reunification site serves as a rendezvous point where students, staff, and others can be accounted for and reunited with their families.
The upcoming drill will be coordinated with law enforcement, first responders, and the Cowlitz Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
“The goal of this drill is to test the district’s reunification program under simulated emergency conditions,” said Scott Landrigan, Woodland Public Schools’ director of Safety and Facilities. “Parents and students will also serve as a major part of this exercise as we will be physically moving students from one campus to another.”
All Woodland Middle School students will be loaded on school buses located around the school. Once accounted for, the majority of the students will return to class while four classrooms of students will be bussed to the reunification location to be processed and reunited with their parents (or simulated parent). After the reunification exercise, the participating students will enjoy a free lunch at the Woodland High School cafeteria before being transported back to the middle school.
The district will be putting up signs letting community members know that any unusual activity is part of a planned exercise.
“We want to make sure all members of the community are aware of the drill and don’t become concerned as they might see emergency vehicles including ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, and maybe even the LifeFlight helicopter over the high school,” said Landrigan.
Community members interested in learning more about this important drill can visit the Woodland Public Schools website: https://www.woodlandschools.org/reunification-drill-2020
Information provided by Woodland Public Schools.
