![]() But even when she did, she wasn’t supposed to let her students know. Selena Carrión, an educator with over 10 years of experience teaching in Manhattan and the Bronx who recently left the public school system, said that sometimes she didn’t know a drill was going to happen. The mechanics of a lockdown drillĪhmad’s school always lets him know in advance that a lockdown drill will take place in the coming week, which allows him to plan lessons accordingly. That means they’re unable to lock the door. In addition, some teachers rotate classrooms and don’t have keys to every room in which they teach. Teachers aren’t able to cover the whole wall during a lockdown, and an intruder would easily be able to see who’s inside the classroom from the hallway. Teachers are not trained on how to explain drills to students, support students with mental health needs, guide students with disabilities who struggle to remain quiet and still, or navigate classrooms that have physical limitations.įor example, some classrooms have windowed walls. Some teachers said drills in their schools last five minutes, while others said they can last as long as half an hour. There isn’t guidance on whether drills should be announced beforehand or how long they should last. The lack of training leads to inconsistencies among classrooms and schools. In reality, lockdown drills are anything but simple. Teachers get simple, four-step instructions on how to conduct drills: check hallway, lock door, turn off lights, and move out of sight. Guidance regarding emergency procedures is also posted throughout all schools and classrooms, according to the city’s education department. The “building response team” leader, often an assistant principal or dean, is supposed to conduct the overview during staff meetings when teachers return from summer break. And the only way that I was told was as a correction, because someone noticed I was doing it wrong,” he said.Ī spokesperson from the city’s education department said that “teachers participate in a review of all emergency drill procedures, which includes lockdown procedures, at the start of every school year.” “As a newer teacher, no one told me what to do. He vaguely remembers a staff meeting where someone mentioned that they should take the drills seriously, but that was it. He relied on veteran teachers and trial and error to learn.Īhmad said he never received any formal training that explained every step of the process or prepared him for potential technical issues or students’ emotional responses. He has to not only stop class instruction, but also check for any students wandering the hallway, cover the door window, turn off the lights, and instruct students to huddle quietly in a corner, where a potential intruder wouldn’t be able to see them. In New York City, teachers are not encouraged to carry weapons, but their lack of training on lockdown drills means that practices vary from school to school and even from classroom to classroom.Īhmad has now mastered the procedure. Teachers should not have to know how to treat a gunshot wound.” But in states like Utah, local governments have encouraged teachers to arm themselves and practice active shooter scenarios. In a recent speech, Vice President Kamala Harris said that, “Teachers should not have to practice barricading a classroom. In the aftermath of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in which 19 children and two teachers were killed, attention has turned again to lockdown drills and the role teachers should play in protecting students from potential shooters. ![]() Although more than 40 states mandate similar drills, sometimes called “active shooter drills,” there isn’t a nationwide protocol.
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