FACT: Drills related to weather and other potential emergencies are held throughout the year to help prepare students and staff.
In accordance with state law, schools hold a series of drills throughout the year. These include fire drills, earthquake drills, tornado drills as well as external and internal lockdown drills.
At the beginning of the school year, students and staff are given instruction on what to do during the respective drill – specifically where to evacuate or shelter-in-place, if needed. On the days of the drills, the timing is not shared in advance in order to adequately test the response. During the drill, members of the administrative team, the School Resource Officer and potentially school division safety team members, patrol the school and observe for ways to improve their practice.