RESEARCH

Overview –

School reunification, the process of reuniting students with their families after a crisis, is a critical component of school safety and emergency response. It plays a vital role in ensuring the well-being of students and parents/guardians/families, facilitating community recovery, and enabling the continuity of education. Yet, despite its importance, reunification is often fraught with challenges. This research aims to conduct an in-depth analysis of 13 school violence events that occurred between 1999 and 2023, with a focus on identifying common themes that cause challenges in the school reunification process and developing evidence-based recommendations for improvement.

This study seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of the systemic issues that have contributed to failures in the reunification process. By meticulously examining these critical failure areas across various school violence events, the goal is to identify patterns and trends that can inform the development of more effective reunification plans, protocols, and training methods. The findings can be used to generate actionable recommendations for schools and communities to ensure a more coordinated and compassionate response to future crises.

This research aims to contribute to the growing body of knowledge on school safety and crisis response, providing valuable insights for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers. By shedding light on the consistent challenges faced during school reunification efforts and offering evidence-based recommendations for improvement, it seeks to promote a more holistic and practical approach to crisis preparedness and response, ensuring that schools are better equipped to support students, families, and staff after a violent incident.

Methodology –

This research employs a qualitative case study approach to examine critical failures in school reunification efforts following violent incidents. The analysis focuses on 13 school violence events that occurred in the United States between 1999 and 2023, selected based on their severity, media coverage, and the availability of after-action reports (AARs) and other documentation.

The primary data collection methods involved reviewing AARs and other official reports from government agencies, law enforcement, and school districts, as well as analyzing media reports and news articles covering the events and their aftermath. These sources provided valuable insights into the challenges and failures experienced during reunification efforts, including communication breakdowns, logistical obstacles, emotional and psychological impacts, and security concerns.

A thematic analysis approach is being employed to analyze the data and identify recurring themes related to reunification failures and challenges. This involved systematically reviewing and coding the data to identify patterns and themes related to the research questions. This method allows for a rich and nuanced understanding of the recurring challenges and failures in school reunification efforts and the factors that contribute to them.