Patience is key during reunification drill at West Jordan school

WEST JORDAN — An earthquake, power outage, criminal activity. These are just a few reasons for a school to release students early.

More than 1,000 students attend Fox Hollow Elementary School in West Jordan. Things could quickly turn into chaos during an emergency if all the parents showed up at the same time.

“Reunification is really what happens after the bad things are done,” West Jordan Deputy Fire Chief Reed Scharman said.

About 400 families, which is about 675 students, participated in a “reunification drill” Thursday at the school. Once the fake emergency was declared, parents received a phone message to come pick up their children. As parents arrived at the school, officials verified which children they were authorized to take home and then delivered the students directly to the car.

Police and firefighters helped, but in a real emergency the schools could possibly need to handle such a process on their own.

“That’s the priority: the right kids to the right person,” said Scharman. “Beyond that, we hope to be as efficient as possible. We have no desire to hold your children any longer than necessary. We want to get them back to you, but we need to do it in a way that’s controlled.”

“The children can’t just walk home,” Scharman added. “Their parents may be at work or the neighbor that watches them may not be home.”

Tricia Young was one of the parents involved in the drill. She lives a few blocks away from the school and walked there once she got the emergency message.

“So I got my two kids, and then I’m the emergency contact for my neighbor’s kids, and so I was able to pick them up also,” she said.

Young said once she reached the school and showed proper ID, it took about 20 minutes for her to be reunited with the children. She thought the process went smoothly and that the school did a good job educating parents about what to expect in an emergency.

"I think it's great,” Young said. “I think the more you practice the better you are in real-life situations."

Principal Kevin Pullan said the goal of the drill was to learn, and he thought it was wise for schools to practice so parents know what to expect.

“I’ve worried about this scenario for years,” Pullan said.

During a real situation, the school would stay in lockout mode, so that parents don’t run inside to get their children and bypass the verification process.

The main message for parents is to practice patience. “We want to make sure that we are accurate in getting students back with the right parent. That’s our No.1 priority — safety of students,” Pullan said.

It took months of planning, and administrators from 55 schools in the Jordan School District observed the drill so that they could learn from what happened.

Contributing: Viviane Vo-Duc

Email: legan@deseretnews.com