Practice Makes Perfect

The State Board of Education (ISBE) allows for four days to be used each year for teacher training and in-service. Last Friday, March 2nd was our last Institute Day for the year. In addition to learning about the Response to Instruction (RTI) model that is being implemented in Illinois and working on a detailed analysis of the performance of our students on the ISAT we took time to continue to refine and practice our procedures to safeguard our students while in school.

Over the course of the year, we conduct lockdown drills in each school building. The purpose of these drills is to develop a routine and procedure that allows for students and teachers to be safe in the event of an emergency. In these drills students go to a place of safety, usually their own classroom. A lockdown situation could be necessary in the event of an intruder in the building or in the occurrence of a student or staff injury that requires the hallways to be clear for emergency personnel. As part of our institute program, last week, we developed a lockdown drill involving all district staff that was conducted and directed by the DuPage County Sheriff’s Department and held at Lakeview Junior High School. This drill placed staff members in the role of students so that they could experience this through the eyes of a student. Feedback from staff members indicates that this was a productive activity and gave everyone new insight into the many factors that could play into this type of emergency situation.