School-Aged Children
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Does your child's school have lock down drills?
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My daughter had her first lock down drill this week. They all have to huddle together on the floor in the corner. The teacher locks the door and pulls down black out shades. It made me sad that they have to deal with this when we only had fire drills.
Smiley: April '05 Rocky: May '06 Tex: July '09
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Re: Does your child's school have lock down drills?
Newlyweds since 2007
One of my girls' schools was on lockdown because of a robbery in the area. All it meant was an inside recess and no one could come in or out of the building for 20 minutes until they got the all-clear.
I don't think they've had a drill for it though. They have had fire and tornado drills (poor kids had to squeeze into the bathroom and read books).
Our area has no crime. The biggest crime is speeding in residential areas or teenagers getting drunk at the playground on a Friday night.
Both my kids' schools and the school where I teach have 2 kinds of "lockdown drills."
The most commonly practiced is the "shelter in place" drill which basically means that everyone stays in the classroom. This would happen in the event of severe weather, a suspicious package, or something where it would make sense to have the kids all stay in their rooms, but there's no serious danger. DD's school has real lockdowns about 2 or 3 times a year because they have a large special needs program. Occasionally a kid has a tantrum in the hall and needs to be restrained, and the administration clears the hallways just so no other kids get hurt.
Then they have the "intruder alert" drill, which means doors are locked, shades are drawn, and kids take shelter away from the doors/windows. When the DC/Northern Virginia Sniper attacks were happening several years ago, two of the victims were murdered at an Exxon station walking distance from the school where I teach. It was REALLY stressful on the kids and faculty during that time.
So, yeah, it sucks that we have to practice these types of things. But it's better for kids to know what to expect in the event of an emergency!
We have hot/cold lockdowns at the high school where I teach. However, they involve simply locking the doors and not letting anyone in. Both times when we've had one I made sure the door was locked and kept on teaching.
That is my school's policy, but I was a junior when I saw the Columbine shooting go down on the other side of the country. Thus, I have my own personal plan on action just because of the events that happened when I was in high school. Sometimes that subject will come up in class, and I'll share with my students our plan.
Yeah, it is sad that they have to have drills. But I'm at least glad they aren't ducking their heads in the sand and pretending it isn't an issue.
The school I teach at has two types.
One type is if the intruder is IN the building and the other type is when a crime happens near by.
It doesn't matter how much crime your area has. We have VERY low crime here, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
L has come home several time telling me about a code blue. I asked him what it was and he said "Mrs. Teachersname makes us sit in a circle on the carpet and then locks the doors. (they dont have windows in their classroom) Then officer Joe comes by and shakes the door knob. (each school in the area, 3 elementary & 2 HS, have a resource officer that spends most of the day at the schools. They are town/county police officers)
I asked him what they do during a code blue and he said they have to sit very quietly in a close circle. "and not say a word and we cant go potty"
I asked how long it was and he said "not very long, Mr Principalsname comes on the speaker and says thank you, code blue is finished"
It is sad that they have to practice these types of drills but it hits toooo close to home around here. Esp for my family. We are 30 mins from Virginia Tech and my brother was one of the victims. Not sure if anyone remembers but back before the VT shooting the fall semester before hand a man shot and killed a Hospital security guard and a police officer and was on VT campus and lose in Blacksburg. ALL the schools were on lock down. Even though it was 30mins away our local schools were on lock down until he was caught. Buses ran late, parents couldnt pick kids up etc. It was a mess but better safe than sorry. The guy was crazy, armed and already killed 2 people for no reason. He was on the lose for hours and no one knew where he would turn up. Then the VT shooting happened and schools were on lock down the entire day even though it was over by early morning.
Im just glad that they call it a code blue and not something more obvious. I would like to keep my 5yr old as oblivious to all of it as possible. He already asks enough questions about Uncle Jarrett and why someone shot him. (thanks to my mom telling him way too much info) I dont need to make him feel scared at school since they practice drills to protect them from things like what happened to my brother.
In MN it doesn't matter WHERE you live (high crime or low crime) it is mandated by the state that every school has 5 lock down drills a year. Same mandate for fire drills and tornado drills.
And crime rate is not the sole indicator of if a school will need to ever go into lock down procedure, that's a huge misconception.
this...all you need is one disturbed person....not a city full of crime!