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BEMENT, Ill. (WCIA) — Imagine not knowing where your child is — or if they’re safe. That’s exactly what administrators at the Bement School District are hoping to prevent.
On Wednesday, they held their first evacuation and reunification exercise for parents, students and administrators in Monticello. They’re learning how to get kids from a bad situation, back into the caring arms of loved ones.
“If there is an emergency, we need parents to know what to expect,” said Superintendent Mary Vogt. “We need students to know, ‘You’re okay, your parents will get to you, and we do have a plan.’”
It started with students from Bement Elementary, Middle and High Schools evacuating in a traditional fire drill. From there, they were transported to the designated reunification zone at Monticello Christian Church.
“The reason for that is, if there is an event that requires first responders at the school, we can’t also have parents coming to the school to pick the kids up,” Vogt said.
Parents then would pick up their children in an organized fashion with identification.
“Getting a phone call that your child has been evacuated from their school and not knowing what the process entails would be terrifying, really,” said parent Caroline Ewers. “So, I think this was really good for the parents.”
The Piatt County Emergency Management Agency brought upwards of 14 emergency services from Macon and Piatt Counties to help the schools form and execute this plan.
“Having a full-scale exercise like this is super beneficial because we can see if there’s any gaps, see if we need to mitigate, or future plan an extra exercise so we can minimize those gaps,” said Aaron Leynes of the Piatt County EMA.
The drill is preparing for the worst to get the best result.
“I’m not going to say that everyone will be free of stress and concern, but will at least [they will] know what to do and how to do it,” Vogt said.
This was the school’s first reunification drill. Bement officials said it went well, with room to grow in the future.
