Intruder Drills Practiced at Jackson-Madison County Schools
JACKSON, Tenn. – Jackson-Madison County Schools practiced an intruder lockdown scenario, Thursday, to see if each school’s students knew what to do if their school was broken into. “Unfortunately, it’s very important in today’s society as we watch the news and the events that take place every day in our nation,” North Parkway Middle School principal Tracey Vowell said. From Pre-K to high school, every student in the system participated in the drills. When the alarm sounded at North Parkway Middle School, students vanished. “All activity in the building stops,” Vowell said. “You’re assuming that an intruder is in the building. All classrooms are closed and locked, and the children and their teachers hide.” When the drill times were announced, North Parkway Middle School could have switched its schedule by taking students out of the cafeteria and putting them all into classrooms, which would have made the drills a little bit easier. Instead, they kept 100 students in the cafeteria as usual for the time because they wanted to reflect a real-life situation. “What we have learned over a period of time is that having a drill during an inconvenient time in the schedule will truly give you an accurate depiction of what might possibly happen,” Vowell said. School resource officers walked the halls to check and make sure students and teachers were following instructions, and school leaders walked door to door to ensure every classroom was safe and secure. “They have to be ready and be prepared for all safety situations, and that’s the only way they’ll be ready is to practice,” leader of elementary education Dr. Versie Hamlett said. “We want to always keep our students safe.”
