As a school administrator, I have worked in schools where fire drills and lockdowns were treated as just things that had to be done every month, twice a year, etc. The teachers just went through the motions, office staff only half heartedly tried to account for every student, etc. They sounded the all clear and then marked down the time the drill/evacuation took, and then that was it until next time. No after action discussions.
I began having teachers initiate the drills. I would go to their classrooms and say, you just spotted flames in the hallway, corner of your room, etc. and then they had to initiate the proper response. ---In many cases, the teachers didn't know where the fire pulls were, froze up in indecision, and didn't consider how to get the kids out of the school via an alternate route, etc.
In lock-down drills, teachers opened doors when they were knocked on. Even though the poiicy clearly stated that the door would only be opened by law enforcement(real emergency) or the principal(practice).
Although schools practice safety drills, do they practice them in any authentic fashion. Do they practice for the unexpected? (Hallway blocked by fire) Are they able to think under pressure and react to the unexpected changes? Do they practice accounting for each and every student, every time?( if so, HOW?)
In the case of our school, a malfunctioning smoke alarm, then later a man running through campus with a gun, caused my staff and faculty to take things a lot more seriously.
The GOTCHA reporting tactics reporters use during November Sweeps, irks me, but I would be confident that my staff, teachers and students would react in proper fashion in the event of a real emergency, or intruder in the building.
What does your child's school do to ensure everyone takes opportunity to practice for the unthinkable seriously? (Are you certain?)
I began having teachers initiate the drills. I would go to their classrooms and say, you just spotted flames in the hallway, corner of your room, etc. and then they had to initiate the proper response. ---In many cases, the teachers didn't know where the fire pulls were, froze up in indecision, and didn't consider how to get the kids out of the school via an alternate route, etc.
In lock-down drills, teachers opened doors when they were knocked on. Even though the poiicy clearly stated that the door would only be opened by law enforcement(real emergency) or the principal(practice).
Although schools practice safety drills, do they practice them in any authentic fashion. Do they practice for the unexpected? (Hallway blocked by fire) Are they able to think under pressure and react to the unexpected changes? Do they practice accounting for each and every student, every time?( if so, HOW?)
In the case of our school, a malfunctioning smoke alarm, then later a man running through campus with a gun, caused my staff and faculty to take things a lot more seriously.
The GOTCHA reporting tactics reporters use during November Sweeps, irks me, but I would be confident that my staff, teachers and students would react in proper fashion in the event of a real emergency, or intruder in the building.
What does your child's school do to ensure everyone takes opportunity to practice for the unthinkable seriously? (Are you certain?)
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. We routinely practice weather drills, home defense and fire drills, we homeschoolers are on top of it. I says alot to a child that their teachers care for their safety.
