The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) and Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) have partnered to provide a reunification site for CCPS students, staff and their families in case of an emergency at one of the county schools.
CSM has agreed to allow CCPS to use its Physical Education Center (PE Building), parking lots and access roads on the La Plata Campus to house and operate a family reunification center during a crisis. Reunification is the process the school system would use to communicate with parents and to reunite them with their children following a disaster or large-scale emergency at a school. Reunification centers are set up away from the crisis location to provide parents a secure place to receive information and to expedite the release of students.
According to a CCPS press release, prior to the agreement, each CCPS school had to identify a nearby site for family reunification. The school system wanted a centrally located, large facility to house students and reunite them with parents. Additionally, the CSM building is readily accessible and will facilitate a more timely and efficient family reunification process, said CCPS Director of School Safety and Security.
About CSM
The College of Southern Maryland is a regionally accredited community college that provides programs and services with a special focus on local workforce development to maintain and grow a healthy economy and community. CSM serves more than 24,000 credit and continuing education students at its campuses located in Hughesville, La Plata, Leonardtown and Prince Frederick, as well as a Higher Education Center shared with University of Maryland University College in Waldorf and a Center for Transportation Training in La Plata. For information about CSM, call 301-934-7765 or visit www.csmd.edu.
About CCPS
Charles County Public Schools provides 27,108 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 36 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.
The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Kathy Kiessling, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Nikial Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 coordinator (employees/adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.
[ This article originally appeared here ]
CSM has agreed to allow CCPS to use its Physical Education Center (PE Building), parking lots and access roads on the La Plata Campus to house and operate a family reunification center during a crisis. Reunification is the process the school system would use to communicate with parents and to reunite them with their children following a disaster or large-scale emergency at a school. Reunification centers are set up away from the crisis location to provide parents a secure place to receive information and to expedite the release of students.
“The College of Southern Maryland is pleased to support Charles County Public Schools in its school safety planning and to be a resource as a reunification center should the need arise,” said CSM President Dr. Maureen Murphy. “I applaud Superintendent Kimberly Hill and her team for being proactive in this type of planning. Emergencies by their very nature are unpredictable events, but putting into place this memorandum of understanding will help to ease the stress of making such decisions in the face of a crisis. We are grateful that we can be here for our community.”
“The reunification center partnership allows CCPS to create, practice and implement plans for family reunification before an emergency occurs,” said CCPS Superintendent Dr. Kimberly Hill. “We are able to provide a predictable reunification site that can be communicated to parents and incorporated in our school emergency plans.”
According to a CCPS press release, prior to the agreement, each CCPS school had to identify a nearby site for family reunification. The school system wanted a centrally located, large facility to house students and reunite them with parents. Additionally, the CSM building is readily accessible and will facilitate a more timely and efficient family reunification process, said CCPS Director of School Safety and Security.
About CSM
The College of Southern Maryland is a regionally accredited community college that provides programs and services with a special focus on local workforce development to maintain and grow a healthy economy and community. CSM serves more than 24,000 credit and continuing education students at its campuses located in Hughesville, La Plata, Leonardtown and Prince Frederick, as well as a Higher Education Center shared with University of Maryland University College in Waldorf and a Center for Transportation Training in La Plata. For information about CSM, call 301-934-7765 or visit www.csmd.edu.
About CCPS
Charles County Public Schools provides 27,108 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 36 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.
The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Kathy Kiessling, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Nikial Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 coordinator (employees/adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.
[ This article originally appeared here ]