D123 Plans School Evacuation Drill This Wednesday

OAK LAWN, IL — Oak Lawn-Hometown School Dist. 123 will be conducting a school evacuation drill and emergency procedures at various locations around the village from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 10. D123 is working with the Oak Lawn Police Department and the Oak Lawn Park District

Expect to see significant child pedestrian traffic, school buses and emergency vehicles, as well as Oak Lawn police, firefighters and paramedics. The exercise will be held in the areas of Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School (5345 W. 99th St.), Sward Elementary School (9830 Brandt Ave.) and the Oak Lawn Pavilion (9401 S. Oak Park Ave.).

The school district and Oak Lawn’s first responders will be practicing moving children out of the schools and reuniting them with their parents. A letter was sent to Sward and OLHMS parents last week, so parents are aware of this exercise.

This drill is intended to mirror a real-life evacuation, and will take OLHMS students through an evacuation exercise from the school building to both an evacuation site and family reunification area.

“In the interest of preparedness and our ongoing commitment to school safety, we want to ensure parents and the community that we are taking the appropriate time to practice a larger-scale emergency response,” D123 Superintendent Paul Enderle said in an email. “These drills will help our students, faculty and first responders calibrate their understanding in the event of a crisis so that their actions promote the safety and welfare of all members of our learning community.”