Students and Adults Learn How to React in a Crisis

By Mike Dougherty, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.

Apr. 21–Practicing lockdown drills in the Rochester public schools has exposed small flaws that could prove tragic during an emergency.

If a shooter entered the building, the call would go out on the building’s public address system. Trouble is, you need to hear it.

Rochester Police Sgt. Eli Umpierre quickly noted a faulty speaker in her office at John Adams Middle School earlier in the school year during a drill. As the police liaison officer in the building, she needs to hear announcements. The problem was fixed, and the speaker now booms over her head.

“Each time we drill, we see something that might need to be changed, or teachers or students suggest something different,” she said. “We’ve got some rooms that are windowless, so when the lights go out, it’s very dark. It’s hard to see. We talk about ways we can help students adjust.”

Or what happens if a student is in the hallway at the time of the drill?

Normally, doors are locked quickly to keep students with their teachers in the classrooms away from the possible problem outside the doors.

In one drill, Jefferson Elementary teacher Jaimie Osowski opened her door, looked into the hallway and did a quick check of a restroom across from her classroom.

“I try to gather anyone who might be in the hallway, but then we close our door and it’s locked,” she said. “We give students other ideas on where they can go and what they can do. We have rules, but we also say you don’t need to follow the regular rules. If you need to run, run.”

Legislation last year has directed Minnesota’s public schools to conduct at least five lockdown drills each school year. And while much of the focus, especially this week with the Virginia Tech shootings, is on a shooter, Rochester school officials say the lockdowns can be instituted for a range of events. There could be instances where police might be chasing someone near the school or another emergency might be occurring nearby, prompting a school to lock down to secure students.

Scary times

The first time schools in Rochester tried their lockdown drills, there were no students. It was the right thing, because teachers had to wrestle with their own emotions, said Jacque Peterson, the school district’s director for elementary and secondary education. Even though it was a drill, they understood why they were doing it.

“When you stepped back after that first practice, even without the kids, you’d say ‘that’s really scary,’” Osowski said. “It’s unfortunate that we have to spend class time doing this, but, you know, I’d rather be prepared and have my kids prepared.”

Part of that preparation involves talking with kids: before, during and after the drills.

“You have to be honest with them if they ask questions, but I’m not here to scare them, I’m here to give them facts, so they can understand why we do what we do,” Osowski said.

They talk about where kids should position themselves in a room. Their teachers talk about how to assess if they’re in the right place, how to move to the right place and how to react. Repetition will build the right response, said Umpierre.

“Police officers train and train, so when they are in high-stress situations, they do as they’re trained; they’re on auto pilot,” Umpierre said. “We’re hoping students can take some of this training and react well. You train, but you always hope you never have to use it.”

Peterson said the lessons students take away are ones they can use in situations beyond the school.

“If you are in a public place and there’s a situation, you can react,” she said.

Assessing reactions

Chris Fogarty, an elementary and secondary education administrator, notes that the role of the teacher in an emergency is just a continuation of their role in the classroom with students.

“We tell (the teachers) they are not to put themselves in harm’s way,” Fogarty said. “They are most valuable protecting themselves, so they can protect the children.”

And the calm, reassuring presence by the teachers and the classroom aides was evident during a visit at Jefferson Elementary School earlier this year.

Osowski was firm, but calm, providing reminders to her young students “there is absolutely no talking starting now.” It was quiet.

After the Jefferson drill, there was talk among the students, teachers and administrators about how it went.

There also is greater discussion between the schools and law enforcement. Umpierre and her predecessors in the police liaison program have opened that up.

Umpierre notes that law enforcement has building layouts for the district, and the Emergency Response Unit has drilled at schools — at times when students were gone — to get training within the buildings.

Security and safety are perhaps bigger topics of discussion in schools these days than even a decade ago. Many schools have video cameras throughout the buildings. Doors are supposed to be locked to outsiders, with only one front entrance open and someone nearby to note the comings and goings.

At Century High School this year, students are wearing color-coded ID badges, to weed out students who might not attend the school and to identify who should be there. Some parents and kids grumbled, but others just shrugged. That’s not surprising in a city where many adults are required to wear name tags by their employers.

Umpierre said it’s all part of a comprehensive plan to keep students safe and the learning environment the same.

“The Century program is a good step,” she said. “By itself, it’s not much, but it’s one of many things the schools are doing, and it’s why it’s gone well.”

But she said the biggest tool to keep schools safe is an age-old one: communication.

“We all need to talk, not just adults to adults, but let kids know there’s someone there who cares and listens,” Umpierre said. “The prevention part is the key. Strong relationships with kids can do more than almost anything else.”

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Copyright (c) 2007, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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