One of every parent’s worst nightmares is hearing that their child’s school is on lockdown. As a parent, you just want to know that your child is okay, but it can be hard to get information from officials during such an event. Until the school is willing to give all of the details, you need to remain calm and know that school officials are doing everything that they can to keep the children safe.
While the term can be very intimidating, the reasons for a school lockdown are not always as severe as people would assume.
Some causes of school lockdowns are:
- An unidentified person on campus.
- A parent trying to remove their student without permission.
- Something dangerous has happened near school grounds, but not on the actual campus.
- Any other health or safety issue.
Whenever something occurs that risks the safety of even one student, a school can lockdown. This is to ensure that no one gets in or out until the situation is resolved.
The procedures are different from school to school, but they all follow similar points. The first being that the lockdown procedures are continually practiced to ensure that everyone is prepped and ready should anything really happen.
During an actual event, teachers will usually lock their room door and close the curtains on any windows. The kids within the room are then meant to hide from the windows, usually under their desk. The teacher will usually have some form of communication between their classroom and the main office so that everyone remains informed of the situation. The lockdown itself will last until the situation that caused the trouble has been dealt with.
During a lockdown event, it can be difficult to get information from the school. This is due to the fact they are handling the situation, and do not have time to address parents. It is important to remember that schools are primarily concerned with taking care of their students, and will do whatever they can to keep them safe. Once it is safe, they will either resume normal operations or release the students to their parents.