Are We Safe?

by Mallory Carlson ’19 and Katherine Sperduto ’19

Everyone knows the routine. First, students groan, continuing to stare blankly at the board, only now in the dark. Then, at the instruction of a voice over the loudspeaker, lessons stop and kids get a few minutes of silent smiles and a few fast snapchats as everyone huddles in a corner. These are the lockdown drills as Sherwood knows them, but the occurences of tragic school shootings have sparked a debate about whether the lockdown approach effectively protects students and staff from threats.

Some schools nationwide have started implementing the “Run, Hide, Fight” method. The technique consists of three steps. First, try to escape the situation. If that’s not feasible, hide with as many people as safely possible in a locked and preferably barricaded area, ideally without windows and not near a main hallway. As a last resort, try to fight the threat with any tools available.

Although “Run, Hide, Fight” is recommended by the FBI, MCPS does not endorse its use in schools, instead choosing the lockdown approach, which is part of the MCPS Emergency Response Plan. The plan is formatted in a generic outline for each school to complete individually, geography and student and staff population being important factors, but basic protocol remaining the same throughout elementary, middle, and high school.

“‘Run, Hide, Fight’ is a method that we believe is more likely to be used by adults in a work environment,” said Michael Jones, cluster security coordinator at the MCPS Department of School Safety and Security. “If an active shooter(s) breaches a school we do not advocate ‘Run, Hide, Fight.’ Locking down in place is much more practical … there could in fact be more than one active shooter and that person’s position on the campus may not be known.”

“Run, Hide, Fight” is always voted against when the emergency procedure for Sherwood is reviewed periodically by the on site emergency team (OSET), conducted by the Department of School Safety and Security. According to Pat Rooney, Sherwood’s security team leader, the technique has flaws that can lead to chaos and put students in more danger if not executed properly. “There have been incidents where somebody has come in with guns and they flushed people out of the building only to find that there was another gunman outside the building,” said Rooney.

He expressed that if a threat were to arise during lunch or when kids are not all secure in classrooms, the best option is to run. “Lunch time is a perfect example of when to use fight or flight. With that many kids in one area [cafeteria], there really is no way to quickly get into a secure room.”

If someone is in a bathroom or hallway during a lockdown, Rooney recommends locking and barricading the door if possible, and staying stationary until emergency personnel arrives.

Although “Run, Hide, Fight” is not used at Sherwood, there are other safety procedures that

students and staff should practice. For example, never open a normally locked door for a person that one might happen to see asking to be let into the building; that’s the security team’s job. Even if the person in question is a student, it would be difficult to know why he or she is not coming in through the main doors and if his or her intentions are harmless.

If students are out in the open when an emergency occurs, the current protocol calls for them to locate the nearest classroom. “They [the attacker(s)] are looking for an easy target. The kids that are away from the doors, with the lights off, and are not visible to the suspects are safer than a student who was to be in a hallway,” stated Rooney.

Shelter and lockdown drills may seem like the perfect opportunity to send a quick text or take a short nap, but the reality is students must stay alert. There have been tragedies across the country caused by attackers in schools, so it’s imperative that students protect themselves to the best of their ability by being aware and smart about safety.