School Safety Tools: Speeding up Lockdowns

September 12, 2022

In a school district that I visited, I noticed taped to one wall in every classroom was a black X on a pink sheet of paper. When I asked a teacher the purpose of this symbol, the teacher explained, “That’s where we hide during a lockdown.”

This school district utilizes an easy to recognize control feature to speed up their lockdowns. This technique which is impossible to miss is a tremendous benefit to new teachers, students, staff members, and substitutes because it does the thinking for them—hide here! This is the best place!

I love the concept. It’s simple, super easy to understand and implement, inexpensive, and plays to our natural strength. People are very visual and visual cues are great for helping to achieve specific behaviors. In this instance—it’s speeding up lockdowns by reducing confusion.

If you think this might help your district, here are 3 points to consider before implementation.

  1. Continuity.
    Whatever symbol you use—it has to be the same district wide. It cannot be school specific or you’ll risk creating confusion for subs, students who have moved up a grade level, or those professionals who bounce from school-to-school providing services to students at different grade levels.

    There must be continuity or in other words, one symbol that is the same for every school. Place this symbol in classrooms, copier room, offices, lunchroom, gym, locker rooms—any place where there are people.
  2. Perfect placement.
    Identify the person who does your best school safety. Have them visit each classroom, study the room, and discern the best location for a HIDE position. Then mark that spot with your symbol. Be very precise when you mark the room. It must be the perfect placement because we’re telling everyone—don’t think just run here!

    The perfect placement is where those in the class can hide and not be seen or hit by gunfire from the classroom door.
  3. Simple language.
    When implementing this new policy/technique, keep it very simple.

    “In the next few days, someone will visit your classroom, office, or space to double check or help determine the best location for a hide position during a lockdown. When that is accomplished, we will then mark that spot with a black X on a pink sheet of paper (eagle, mascot—whatever you decide to use).

    All you have to remember is that when a lockdown is initiated, regardless of where you are inside the school, run and hide at the black X.

    We’re doing this because it will make it easier for you to know the best place to hide anywhere in the building as well as speed up our lockdowns and therefore make all of us safer.”

Should you choose to implement this technique, be very visible when you do and let the staff know why you’re doing it—to make the school day safer and our lives better.

Teachers will appreciate the individual attention and concern for them and their students! It will help to lower their anxiety and at the same time increase their trust in the school leadership. This way you not only make your school safer but you also enhance your school culture.


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