After Sandy Hook, I started keeping the door locked at all times. This is a daily pain in the neck, but I have stuck to it. Nobody opens the door unless they know and can fully see the person. It takes a little training, but usually one kid peeks through the blinds, and the other stands by the door for the all clear before opening it.
I have planned out to the detail what I would do if an armed crazy person got into our classroom, and have had discussions like this with my kids every year since Columbine...
Me: If a crazy person comes in the door, I am going to tell you to duck and cover...cover your ears.
Students: Why do we duck and cover our ears?
Me: Because while I am running over the top of the desks and throwing everything I can at the crazy person, I will most likely be cussing. I don't want you to hear your teacher cuss.
Students: (giggling, then they realize that I am serious) We can help you!
Me: I can handle it. I took four years of kickboxing, my brother has imparted some of his "special skills" to me, and I will have crazy teacher strength that God gives teachers when they need to protect their students. I won't need your help until he is down on the ground and I am beating him senseless. Then I will need you to bring me the extension cord.
Students: Why?
Me: TO TIE HIM UP???? After he is tied up, then we drag him away from the door, push all the desks up against him, and exit the room in an orderly fashion.
Students: Can we do that?
Me: If a crazy person comes in this room, I will do anything I have to do to protect you.
In addition to that little inspirational talk, I demand that they take all drills seriously. The holy wrath of God will rain down upon them if they talk during a drill. If they don't walk out in a straight line, I make them do it again, and again during the 8th grader lunch. Every kid in the school knows that I am all business during drills.
That being said, we have never had an extended lockdown. We have had drive by shootings, helicopters overhead, but those have happened after school. Still it worries me, so I am putting together a Lockdown Kit.
So far, this is what I have on my list.
1. An emergency toilet, something like this one from LifeSecure
2. Extra small garbage bags
3. Hand santizer (have it)
4. Baby wipes
5. 36 small bottles of water
6. Fruit snacks (I almost always have a supply of granola bars and fruit snacks for the kids)
7. First aid kit with gloves (have it)
8. And this beauty from Fighting Chance Solutions
It secures the door from the inside! We can lock our doors from the inside, but some teachers cannot. As Lauren from Life In Middle School shared on Facebook, "Just in case, some crazy person gets a hold of one of the master keys, I want this extra bit of security."
I want to be able to store all the smaller items in the bucket under my desk (I never actually sit at it), with the water and snacks in the big closet.
What am I missing? Please let me know if you can of anything that I have missed. And please share what your school is doing to keep our kids safe! We need to share ideas!
I can't imagine a life where this is something I would actually have to do! All our students would be sitting ducks, as our rooms are made mostly of glass... I have one whole wall of glass infact. We do however, have a 3 metre high fence around the school, so that would stop them for about 5 minutes...
ReplyDeleteI sincerely hope that you NEVER have to use any of the things in your kit, and pray that your students are able to enjoy the rest of their schooling without fear that some crazy person is going to come in!
Erin
Learning to be awesome
We(my podmates and I) started using a doorbell that you can get at Home Depot or Lowe's for very cheap. We have two doors and a note on each door that says "Ring the bell once and count to 30 before ringing it again to allow for a teacher to get to the door." We are fortunate that we have four bathrooms in our pod, but we have walkways similar to yours. We have a security plan in place for who looks our outside hallway door between the pods when we go into lockdown mode. I had my kids clean out my closet so there is enough room on the floor for them to fit in if we have a lockdown. You are going to be super prepared and I think that's awesome!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAlison
Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin'
In my school district, after we're in lockdown mode, we have to slide a laminated paper outside the door that tells whether everyone in our room is safe and accounted for. I think it's the dumbest idea ever... let's advertise where we have students! Something HAS to be done about controlling guns in this country. I hate that students AND teachers don't feel safe at school.
ReplyDeleteOur school supplied every teacher with an emergency kit. It is a similar potty bucket filled with emergency items. It's nice to have living in the land of earthquakes. You can fit quite a lot in that bucket!
ReplyDeleteA battery operated radio? I am wracking my brains for other things we keep in our evacuation/emergency kits.
ReplyDeleteMy school frequently runs lockdown drills and like you, I take them very seriously. After Sandy Hook, a local martial arts studio ran a free all-day workshop for teachers. I found it to be very useful. You should check out similar opportunities in your area. Enjoy your summer!
ReplyDelete