What is a Reunification Plan?
Reunification plans are common in today’s schools, intending to provide coordinated efforts to reconnect families with their children following an emergency. This can include gas leaks, power outages, inclement weather or violence.
Developing a reunification plan can be complex. The planning team must consider communication, transportation, supervision, attendance, weather and so much more. After a plan is in place, it must be shared with staff and training must be provided to ensure that everyone knows what to do in an emergency scenario.
I’ll never forget the day that there was a fire at my elementary school. Initially, the emergency seemed like a routine fire drill until the entire student body was relocated to another building on campus. From my perspective (as a child), the ordeal was chaotic. As I reflect on the incident, I wonder if my school implemented an existing reunification plan or if administrators made one up on the fly.
The Importance of Training on Reunification
Training is key to ensuring that everyone knows what to do if an emergency were to occur today.
- Training allows staff to familiarize themselves with the steps of the plan and review the plan regularly.
- Training equips stakeholders with clear answers for families and generates a solid plan that approaches reunification from multiple perspectives. This ensures all bases are covered.
- Training provides familiarity with the reunification site, resulting in clarity and decreased stress levels during an actual emergency.
The Benefits of Training on Reunification using OSCR360
OSCR360 makes it easier to train for reunification, develop plans, and share them with others in a way that they will be able to retain. The system addresses many of the challenges that schools experience when building their reunification plans.
The OSCR360 System documents a reunification site in 360-degrees, creating a virtual walkthrough to provide context during the planning and training process. Both training and planning for reunification can be completed in the OSCR360 Software.
The Challenges Presented by Reunification
Why is it so difficult for schools to not only train on reunification, but also to create a reunification plan in the first place?
“Sometimes even something as simple as a fire drill can get complicated for our teachers, specifically knowing where to go. Reunification is even more complex, and it can get really messy.”
Principal in Western New York
How can Staff be Trained most Efficiently and Effectively?
Rather than merely reading or listening to the steps of a plan, OSCR360 plans are more hands-on and interactive. OSCR provides a visual and easy-to-process approach.
Some of the major challenges to planning and training on reunification include:
Logistics
Reunification is a complicated process, especially for large schools. Visiting and touring the reunification site with the entire staff is cumbersome and impractical to schedule, even once. Doing so regularly is nearly impossible. OSCR360 allows school safety teams to walk through their reunification site without leaving their classroom.
The reunification site is undergoing changes. How can we address those changes in our plans?
Whether you must adjust to physical changes or procedural changes, OSCR360 makes it easy to update and improve plans. During tabletop or planning committee sessions, pull up the 360-degree photos to discuss and plan, without the need to visit the physical site. Review your plans regularly and update as needed.
Time
School administrators are already strapped for time due to their high levels of responsibility. It requires significant time for safety teams to prepare training materials, confirm that the materials are easy to understand, and ensure that the training is high quality and worth the time. OSCR360 simplifies the process of creating your reunification plans. Users can quickly document their reunification site and easily train (and retrain staff) with a virtual walkthrough.
If staff are trained in August, will they still remember what to do in May?
A key feature of OSCR360 is that it allows countless opportunities for training and review on a monthly or quarterly basis – or anytime at all.
Pull up the plans in OSCR360 to present to an entire room full of staff, utilize it for tabletop sessions, or even share 1:1 with a teacher on a laptop. This approach can be great for new and substitute staff members.
Efficacy
An in-house training (held at school, not at the reunification site) is more practical to schedule, but the trade-off is effectiveness. Sharing a written plan with staff isn’t ideal because it may not be read or retained by everyone. Both verbal and written plans pose a further challenge because it is hard to realistically envision a location that you’ve never been to. OSCR360 puts all stakeholders (virtually) at the reunification site. It is easier for teachers and individuals to see their part in the larger plan. Within the OSCR software, notate points of interest such as parent parking, check-in tables and more.
Under significant duress, will teachers and staff know what to do to ensure students are reunified with their families?
In a true emergency, students will be scared, looking to the adults for reassurance. Effective training can provide the adults with confidence in the reunification process, helping them to be more mentally present and emotionally available to the students.
We need to collaborate with local law enforcement. What is the best approach for doing so?
Share your full reunification plan via OSCR360 with law enforcement agencies, emergency management and any other community stakeholders you wish to collaborate with using the free OSCR360 viewer.
About L-Tron
For over two decades, L-Tron has partnered with first responders and government agencies to help keep communities safe. We designed our patented OSCR360 specifically with school administrators and public safety in mind.
From emergency preparation and training to crime and fire scene investigation and prosecution, OSCR360 encourages collaboration and efficiency among all stakeholders. We are proud to provide our OSCR360 clients with the tech support they need anytime, day or night. “Your success is our purpose.”
