A lockdown is potentially one of the most frightening situations a student could face while at school. Anything from a gunman, to a bomb threat could cause a school to enter a lockdown, and often times students are left in the dark.
Riverton High has only faced a lockdown once in its history.
Vice Principal Curtis Hagen recalls, “Years ago when I was a teacher here, a student called in a bomb threat. We were locked down in the gym after it had been cleared by police.”
According to Hagen, four emergency drills are required per year, two evacuation drills (fire drills, and earthquake drills fall under this category), and two of the schools choice. This could range from lockdown drills, to gas leaks.
In the event of a lockdown, RHS’s emergency preparedness manual states students and teachers should lock all surrounding doors, conceal windows, stay in an area that provides maximum physical protection, perform a headcount of all students, and limit sounds such as talking and phones. When a reliable source such as a teacher, principal, police officer, or firefighter gives the “all clear,” another head count should be performed to identify students before evacuating the building. This procedure is the same for all schools falling within the Jordan School District boundaries.
Students are advised not to call parents during a lockdown, because they will not be able to leave the premise until the lockdown is over.
The United States Internet Crime Task Force’s mission is to provide safe schools, inside and out of the school environment,
“[We hope to] Provide every child in the US with a learning environment that is free from outside violence through education and technology.”
While the USICT realizes the impossibility of protecting every child from every danger, they hope to inform children and parents of real life dangers, like school lockdowns and that their advocacy will make a significant impact.
The USICT is focusing on creating a national standardized lockdown proceduare that should help schools create lockdown guidelines that would be close to failproof.
Lockdowns could be one of the most unpredictable events to happen within a school but if students follow the manual, everything should run smoothly, and hopefully free of injury, or death.
