Two-part Safety Exercise Successfully Completed in Wheaton

On March 26, the City of Wheaton Police & Fire Departments joined forces with District 200 and the DuPage County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to conduct a planned safety exercise at Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South High Schools.

The exercise allowed District 200 to practice their reunification plan in the case of a real-world emergency in one of their schools, such as a loss of heat or electricity, a gas leak, a fire or an active shooter on campus.

Police and Fire were able to train on Rescue Task Force Operations.

More than 200 volunteers and staff members worked together, in an effort to improve safety at our community schools.The exercise is the culmination of a year of planning and training which has included workshops and table-top exercises with community partners.

Early in the school year, noting the strength of the District’s existing Safety Committee, the DuPage County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management requested the District and first responders consider conducting an exercise of this magnitude in order to create a model for DuPage County that could be adopted by other Districts.

While some District 200 staff members have participated in previous active shooter drills, this is the first time the newly developed reunification plan was exercised.

Part One
The first part of the morning featured an active shooter simulation at Wheaton North High School. During this time volunteers played the roles of students and staff while first responders simulated responding to an active shooter incident. Students were evacuated from the building and loaded onto buses and transported to Wheaton Warrenville South High School.

Part Two
The second part of the exercise concentrated on reunification. Reunification is the process of reuniting children and parents following a school evacuation and can be used in the event of a fire, gas leak, loss of electricity, or an active threat, like today’s scenario.

Following evacuation from Wheaton North, staff and parent volunteers at Wheaton Warrenville South simulated the process of checking in. Staff then reunified students with their parents. A student resource area and parent resource area also simulated addressing student and parent needs during a time of crisis such as this.

Background
District 200’s nationally recognized Safety Committee meets monthly to review and evaluate safety plans and protocols, discuss safety concerns and examine new safety strategies at all 20 District 200 schools. The Safety Committee is comprised of school and District administration, teachers, police and fire representatives from Wheaton, Warrenville, Carol Stream and Winfield, representatives from local private schools and representatives from the local park districts.