November’s drills of the month deal with two important safety skills – listening and locking down. As a certified instructor for ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) which is the multi-option response used by LWSD for armed assailants, I find it incredibly important to remind parents (and teachers, staff, and students) about WHY certain protocols or “drills” are implemented. First, the State of Washington requires a lockdown drill (see RCW 28A.320.125) in order to “… isolate students and staff from threats of violence, such as suspicious trespassers or armed intruders, that may occur in a school or in the vicinity of a school. Lockdown drills may not include live simulations of or reenactments of active shooter scenarios that are not trauma-informed and age and developmentally appropriate.”
Listening drills, which are used only at the elementary level, teach students to follow directions no matter how silly, strange, or out of the ordinary they may be. For example, maybe students are asked to put a book on their head, run to a fence, or move their chair to another spot. Similar to “Simon Says,” this exercise is done silently and without laughing, talking, or discussing why. This is critical as these skills can help students in an emergency situation to follow directions quickly and smoothly no matter what is asked. During a debrief after a listening drill, students will have the opportunity to ask questions and/or discuss any thoughts and or feelings.
Students in secondary schools review what it means to lockdown. Lockdown is far more than just turning off the lights, locking a door, and pulling down a lockdown shade. True lockdown – consistent with multi-option responses like ALICE and Run/Hide/Fight – involve assembling a barricade against any point of entry. While students do not actually practice these skills in their classrooms, they do discuss what it could look like and why it matters. This is an incredibly important, lifesaving skill as it represents both a physical and time barrier. In situations where individuals cannot evacuate, locking down is the most effective response. Using environmental objects (bags, books, etc.) and furniture (bookshelves, desks, chairs, tables, etc.) to secure doors and/or tying down doors with available objects (belts, purse straps, backpack straps, shoelaces, zip ties, etc.) is critical. It is important to also barricade less obvious points of entry like windows. ALICE and other multi-option responses do not solely rely on locks and instead add more layers of protection to keep students and staff safe. Barricading is a skill that can – and should – be applied in any indoor situation where there is an active, armed intruder and you are unable to safely escape.
For the last five years, I have held various webinars, Lunch & Learns, and roundtables for PTSA parents. If you or your PTSA is interested in having such a presentation, please reach out to me at president@lwptsa.net