An editorial in the last issue (Grant Magazine, October 2015) discussed the issue of safety, school shootings, lockdowns and gun legislation. While I agree with much of the information in the editorial, there were some things that I would like to address.
Driven by an increase in school violence over the last several years, school districts nationwide have examined safety procedures, especially lockdowns. The lockdown is a response to the possibility of an active shooter or other threats in the building and is designed to save lives by eliminating accessibility to staff and students. Each year, staff and students at Grant High School participate in lockdown drills. Some are scheduled and others are intentionally unannounced to assess our efficiency in conducting lockdowns.
Last year, during one of the scheduled drills, we noticed areas where we needed to improve. School Police Resource Officer DeShawn Williams participated in the drill and pointed out some of the specific procedures that were problematic. Some classrooms were not silent. There were a couple of teachers who had turned off lights but kept on teaching. Some teachers opened the door for Officer Williams when he requested they let in the police.
Our protocol includes turning off lights, locking the door, covering windows, moving to the back of the room and sitting on the floor. The room should be very quiet and everyone remains in the class until doors are opened by an administrator or law enforcement. If it is a drill, administrators walk the entire building and check each classroom. At the end of the drill, administrators unlock all classroom doors and indicate the lockdown drill is over.
If it is a real situation, we respond the same, except administrators also lock down until law enforcement gives us the “all clear” or law enforcement enters the building and informs us the lockdown is no longer necessary. Each time we perform a lockdown, we note areas for improvement and share this information with staff.
The editorial in Grant Magazine described the drill last fall as having “mishaps” and a “lack of safety precautions.” It is true that there were areas that needed improvement, and we addressed those with individual teachers and students. There was not, however, a lack of safety precautions. Safety precautions were and are in place.
We reviewed the lockdown procedure with students in September and practiced a lockdown drill shortly thereafter. There were a couple of areas of concern, including a phone that malfunctioned and a couple of classrooms that were not fully engaged in the lockdown procedure. One class had a substitute who was not sure about the procedures.
On Oct. 6, we had to lock down due to what we thought was a real situation: Two young men had been seen near Grant carrying semi-automatic rifles. This happened just days after the Umpqua Community College shootings in Roseburg and was very frightening for students and staff. Once we were given the “all clear” from law enforcement, we began to release students and staff from classrooms. We found a couple of classrooms with lights on, the band in the auditorium had not heard the lockdown announcement, and there were PE classes outside where students and staff had not heard the lockdown announcement. The office staff and almost all of the teachers and students had responded appropriately and efficiently.
The editorial stated that “some teachers and students followed protocol.” I would argue that this statement is inaccurate, as most adults and students in the building did follow the protocol based on the classroom checks done at the end of the lockdown. The editorial further states the lockdown was “mismanaged” and described it as a “debacle.” This is strong language and implies that most teachers and students are not following lockdown protocols. I don’t think this is an accurate assessment of the overall school response to the lockdown.
I think the article definitely addresses an important subject and raises awareness about lockdown protocols. However, no administrators were interviewed and I would have appreciated the opportunity to shed some light on how we assess the lockdown drills, follow-up after drills and the implementation of additional safety processes since the last drill. We are not “waiting for the next mistake.” We practice to get better and we critique each lockdown as if all lives depend on it, because they do. ◊
Carol Campbell is in her third year as principal at Grant High School.
