The City of Manassas is hosting a practice drill to prepare students and parents in the event that disaster strikes.
According to a release, “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,” with crisis response expert John McDonald during practice sessions on October 24 and 25 at Baldwin Elementary School.
The practice will take place before and after children attend classes, so there will be no interruption during instructional time, according to a release.
More on the drill, from a release:
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.
More on McDonald, from a release:
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.
