Reunification drill the latest effort to keep students safe

Lincoln Public Schools continued its dedication to the safety of students and staff by conducting a reunification drill on Wednesday.

Reunification would occur after students and staff evacuate their building, walk to their school’s designated relocation site, but are unable to return to school because of continued safety concerns - for example, a gas leak or a fire. At that point, they would be bussed to another safe, alternative site, where parents could pick up their children.

Wednesday’s exercise involved roughly 170 7th-grade students and select staff from Irving Middle School, as well as LPS administrators and staff who were on hand to observe and offer suggestions for improving the process. Representatives from numerous local and state agencies also attended to offer feedback, including the Lincoln police and fire departments, Lancaster County Emergency Management and the Nebraska Department of Education.

After their evacuation and relocation, the Irving students and staff were bussed to Lincoln Southwest High School. Southwest has been chosen as a potential alternative site for reunification due to its size and design.

LPS Director of Security Joe Wright called Thursday’s drill a success.

“Obviously we’ll continue to improve our plan but I think we proved today that we can keep students safe and reunify them with their parents during an actual emergency,” Wright said.

The “I Love U Guys” Foundation designed the reunification process used by LPS. This is the same organization that designed the other Standard Response Protocols used by the school district, such as Hold, Lockout and Lockdown. You can read more about the “I Love U Guys” Foundation’s reunification process here.


Published: October 17, 2019, Updated: October 17, 2019

"Obviously we’ll continue to improve our plan but I think we proved today that we can keep students safe and reunify them with their parents during an actual emergency."

LPS Director of Security Joe Wright