RUTHERFORD COUNTY, TN – When students return to the classroom on August 8th for their first full day of school in Rutherford County, school officials will be better equipped to work through the chaos that follows natural disasters, a school fire, or even a school shooter.

Last month, administrators with the Rutherford County Schools underwent reunification training… That was Allyson Jones with the I Love U Guys Foundation. During emergency situations that involve an active shooter or natural disaster, parents arriving in large numbers to pick up their children can quickly turn chaotic…

The I Love U Guys Foundation works with schools across the country to prepare them for the aftermath that follows an emergency. The organization focuses on the Standard Reunification Method (SRM) to train school districts how to reunite students with their parents and caregivers after the incident is over…

Protecting students and eliminating the threat of an active school shooter are the two main priorities of law enforcement, but having a well-rehearsed plan to safely reunite children with their parents is a step that is not fully rehearsed during school drills for hundreds – if not thousands of schools across the country.

MORE ON I LOVE U GUYS - Jones said I Love U Guys started with the loss of a child… During the Platte Canyon school shooting in 2006, the 53-year-old shooter methodically picked multiple girls to take hostage and sexually assaulted them. As police moved in, the shooter shot and killed one of the hostages and then killed himself. 16-Year-old Emily Keyes, who was killed by the shooter in Colorado, was able to send two text messages to her parents before she died... That was Carly Posey with the organization named after the final texts sent by Emily Keyes to her parents in 2006 - - the  I Love U Guys Foundation.

Again, Rutherford County School Administrators recently underwent crisis response training for reunification. That training was led by the I Love U Guys Foundation. Read more about the training that was specific for Rutherford County HERE.