What school safety drills, or the lack thereof, could mean to your student
At one school, shooting drills are becoming routine, while another opts out
10:35 p.m. Sunday, April 29, 2007
Eight years ago this month, two teenage students carried out a shooting rampage in Colorado, killing 12 students and a teacher.
A gunman killed five young girls at an Amish school in Pennsylvania in 2006. Two weeks ago, a shooter killed 32 people and wounded 29 others at Virginia Tech, making it the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
The number of school shootings is small, but the possibility of a massacre happening in Topeka-area schools cannot be discounted.
Most Kansas schools practice responding to a shooting situation in their building, said Kansas National Education Association Presdident Blake West. Students are swiftly taken to shelter and locked in rooms.
On the Air
To voice your concerns, you can contact the district office at 295-3000 or log on to Topeka Public Schools' Web site.
Monday at on 49 News at 10, Crime and Safety Reporter Jesse Fray tells you why one safety expert says no Kansas school is doing enough to keep children safe. He's going to the extreme and teaching students to "take on" the gunman.
When 49 News asked Topeka Public School administrators how they prepare students, we found out they don't.
"As for particular drills on what to do if an intruder comes in, we don't do that with the students,” said Topeka Public Schools Spokesman Ron Harbaugh. “Teachers and principals are aware of it, but we don't do a drill like we would with a fire drill.
"And why is that? Well, I don't know that you want to overly scare the students," he said.
Harbaugh says district officials occasionally practice different crisis scenarios at the administration building, but that's as far as it goes.
"For an actual, 'Okay kids, here's where you go if a gunman comes,' or something, we don't do that. And that's just not to scare them.” Harbaugh said. “Especially the younger kids, they're going to be bothered by that and we want to make sure they're there to learn and not worried about those kinds of things.”
The parents we talked to were surprised when they found out.
"I think it's not a matter of scaring them, I think it's a matter of being prepared and saving lives," Joe Griffo, parent of an elementary student, said.
"I know the kids are less-scared when they have tornado drills and fire drills they practice; they know what to do," said parent Corrine Walker "So, maybe if they had some type of a plan and practiced it with the kids so they would know what to do, it would be better."
But, Topeka Public School administrators are prepared. Is that enough remains the question nobody really wants answered.
"I think our security plans probably won't change that much. They've been in place for some time and the teachers and staff, the principals all know what to do in the various situations," Harbaugh said.
It's a decision West, from the KNEA doesn't like.
"Students need to know whatever the system will be, so that when an event occurs they can respond in a manner that doesn't involve panic," West said.
The Topeka Police Department says it would also like to see Topeka Public School’s shooting drill stance change.
"I think it would make everything run smoother; everyone would be safer and they'd be calm," Topeka Police Sergeant Ron Gish said.
Shawnee Heights Middle School holds school shooting drills twice a year. School administrators say they are held to make sure students know what to do if an intruder enters. The drills consist walking children to classrooms. More information on the type of routine students learn is not disclosed for security reasons.
Officer Kyle Scheideman with Shawnee Heights Police Department says the drills ensure students won't be as shocked if a gunman does get in.
"We found the students are really very compliant. There's been so much national attention brought on the school situations that it's getting to be somewhat old-hat to them," Scheideman said.
Still, Topeka Public schools are hoping for the best and trusting school staff to respond if a gunman enters.
"Well, I think we're as prepared as we can be until it actually happens,” Harbaugh said. “Hopefully it won't, you don't know for sure.”
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