Leadership Matters - May 2013

McLean story ————————————————————

Lessons Learned

“It is not a simple process and we had to go slow before we could go fast,” said Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Nathaniel Cunningham Jr., adding that administrators had not considered the issue of students who were 18 years of age being able to sign themselves out. “A few students asked about that, but no one pushed the issue.” Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Dr. Sandy Wilson was dispatched to the evacuation/ reunification site and got that process under control even though it was described as a “work in progress.”

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used a new, easy-to-update website to inform and assure those who went looking for information. Local and area high schools generally, though sometimes unofficially, allow students to bring cell phones to school, but insist they remain off and out- of-sight during school hours. But texting and tweeting takes place. Sometimes the technology is incorporated into classroom instruction. Parents like the connection it provides. What’s clear is there’s no putting the tech genie back in the bottle, even though it can be as

Niehaus said the key was everyone being patient -- a byproduct of the fact that all of the students were safe. “Once parents heard that everyone was okay, they were willing to stand in line as long as they needed to,” Niehaus said. “We had principals and teachers also standing in that line. Everyone was equal that day. We had talked about the theory of reunification, but we found that we need to tighten the

disruptive as it is useful. We’re long past the days when parents had to wait until everyone gathered at the dinner table to ask, “What happened at school today?” There was one technological hiccup. “Our first automated calls went to home phones and many people were not at home,” Brown said. “We now have set up a separate crisis phone list that includes all of the phone numbers on a student’s emergency contact list.” Other lessons learned centered around the reunification process,

“ What’s clear is there’s no putting the tech genie back in the bottle, even though it can be as disruptive as it is useful. We’re long past the days when parents had to wait until everyone gathered at the dinner table to ask, ‘What happened at school today? ’ ” -- From Bloomington Pantagraph editorial praising McLean County District 5’s response

coordination with police agencies, communications issues, media relations and school security upgrades. Reunification a ‘work in progress’ The district had developed a reunification plan, but nothing could have prepared administrators for the real thing involving some 1,900 students. Some parents had to wait in line for hours to pick up their children, and students could only be released to the parents or guardians listed on the students’ emergency contact forms. One delay was the need to create a form for parents or guardians to sign to pick up their children. The district now has forms ready to go the next time there is a need for reunification.

process.” Providing separate rooms for students with disabilities and making sure there is proper wheelchair access for the evacuation site are other issues that must be taken into consideration during the planning process, the district’s administrators noted. Coordination with law enforcement agencies important to avoid surprises Some local police agencies had been involved in emergency exercises with the schools, but challenges still cropped up, including the important question of who is in charge when several different police agencies respond.

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