Saratoga Elementary School (SES) held a mock lockdown Thursday to prepare students for the rare—and hopefully never needed—possibility of a lockdown event at the school.
At about 2:30, a high-pitched warbling alarm began sounding at SES, and several emergency vehicles were positioned outside at different ends of the school facility.
Inside, students went into a lockdown condition and access to the building was restricted as police began sweeping the school and ensuring the building was secure.
As soon as police determined there was no threat to the school or the students, students began an orderly evacuation to the neighboring Platte Valley Community Center across the street.
Class-by-class, students placed their hands on the shoulders of the student in front of them and calmly filed across the street to the safe zone at the PVCC gym.
After the all clear was given, students returned to their classrooms having practiced how to respond in the event of a lockdown situation.
One school official said the lockdown had been quite successful, and the students had performed in an exemplary manner.
The school itself also performed the drill with precision. During the lockdown, nobody from the outside had access to the building, including newspaper reporters.
Confronted with that fact, the school official who called the drill a success said, “Don’t worry, we’ll be probably be having another at the high school soon.”
Reader Comments(0)