By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Hold, secure, lockdown, evacuate, and shelter. Those five words were discussed as part of the Great Bend school district's new security protocol during Monday's USD 428 Board of Education meeting. Assistant Superintendent John Popp said the Standard Response Protocol will provide clarity.
"I think these give a much clearer picture to parents and to first responders about what we are doing and where our kids are, and help kids understand what level of concern they should have."
A crucial piece of the protocol is removing the use of the word "lockdown" except in the most threatening of situations. In past years, "lockdown and continue to teach" may have referenced a medical emergency in the hallway. Students were moved into classrooms to help protect the privacy of the student experiencing the medical condition. This year, "lockdown" will mean much more.
"'Lockdown' in this protocol means there is a danger inside the building," Popp said. "It might be an intruder or an armed intruder, but there is something that is happening inside the building that requires a complete lockdown."
The protocol breaks down behavior expected from students and adults in each level of response. Each incident will be communicated throughout the building, and serious incidents will immediately be communicated to parents.
A "hold" will be used to clear the hallways of people, but business inside the building will otherwise continue as usual. "Secure" will also mean business as usual inside the building, but no one will be allowed to enter or leave the building.
"If there's a 'secure,' there might be a danger, but you coming to the building will not be helpful because we're not letting your kid out, and we're not letting you in," said Popp. "If you come to the building and there is something dangerous outside, you're just putting yourself in harm's way, potentially, so stay away."
A "lockdown" denotes an active threat inside the building and requires students and staff to get behind a closed door, turn out the lights, and stay out of sight from anyone peering through the door.
"In all the active shooter scenarios in the United States, not one shooter has breached a locked classroom door," Popp said. "Never. They talked about how they are solid-core doors. They are industrial, commercial-grade frames. The locks are commercial grade."
The other two responses are "evacuate," which would typically be used in a fire, and "shelter," which could be used in a tornado. The goal, Popp said, is to keep students safe and buy time to allow first responders to arrive.
"Seventy percent of shooting-type scenarios are done in five minutes or less," he said. "And 90 percent are done in 10 minutes or less. What they talked about is getting all the kids behind a locked classroom door, turn the lights off, and hide out of visible range of the windows. If you're there for 5-10 minutes, you will survive almost any type of situation that has happened in the United States."