City of Manassas to Hold Reunification Exercise

From City of Manassas:

The City of Manassas Public Safety Officials and the Manassas City Public Schools (MCPS) will be practicing how to best reunify parents with their children in times of crisis. Crisis Response Expert John McDonald will host practice sessions on Oct. 24 and 25 at Baldwin Elementary School. There will be no interruption to the instructional day as the sessions will occur both after and before children attend classes.

This mock drill, which is a coordinated effort between the City of Manassas, Manassas Emergency Management and MCPS, will enable school crisis response teams and City Fire and Rescue and Police to practice and discuss best practices and strategies to improve should an event happen within the City of Manassas school district.

John McDonald is the Executive Director of Security and Emergency Management for Jefferson County Schools in Colorado. This district includes Columbine High School and Deer Creek Middle School. He is also the founder of ERCM Consultants, which has fast become one of the nation’s premier school safety consulting companies. McDonald has redefined school safety and active shooter preparedness and has been recognized as School Security Director of the Year in 2010.

In the hours following the Sandy Hook tragedy, McDonald was invited to speak at the White House and shared his model preparedness program. This is the program that the City of Manassas will be learning and practicing on Oct. 24 and 25.

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