Active shooter drills have become an unfortunate but frequent safety measure at schools across the country. The drills now happen as regularly as fire drills did when we were children. Every school district makes different decisions on how to handle active shooter drills. One Florida high school's decision not to inform students that their code red drill was, in fact, a drill has now upset many members of the school community.
The drill happened just a few days ago at Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs, Florida. The school sent staff members a text message to initiate a "code red." The principal came on the loudspeaker system to inform students about what was happening. The school's principal even told students, over the loudspeaker, that it was not a drill. An understandable amount of panic ensued as teachers armed themselves, students texted their fears and goodbyes to loved ones, and everyone waited to find out what would happen. Students and teachers later learned that the drill was put into action by the Seminole County Sheriff's Office.
The nearly 3,000 high school students who attend Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs, Florida, are no strangers to active shooter drills. The youngest students at the school, born in 2006, have grown up knowing these drills like they know fire drills.
The school held an "unannounced" code red drill that left many members of the school community upset and angry.
Shortly after 10 a.m., an administrator took to the loudspeaker to call for a code red, even adding, "This is not a drill." A 16-year-old junior at the school told Today, "He sounded scared. His voice was trembling."
Students and teachers immediately started to prepare as they had so many times before. This time, they thought their lives were on the line.
As teachers barricaded doors and students hid in closets, teachers received a message using the Rave Panic Button app. The app is designed so that teachers and staff members can alert each other and authorities of various threats and emergencies.
The message, delivered by email and text, read, "Active Shooter reported at Brantley/Building 1/Building 2/ and other buildings by B Shafer at 10:21:45. Initiate a Code Red Lockdown."
A staff member who believed that the active shooter was real, as did most, sent the alert. They were not aware that the drill was being conducted by the sheriff's office.
Teachers prepared themselves to fight for their students' lives and their own. Students texted family members to alert them of the situation, and some even said their goodbyes.
Other schools were impacted as well. At the nearby middle school, news spread as students feared for their older siblings' safety. Another nearby school for special needs students went on a code yellow lockdown in response to hearing about Lake Brantley's code red.
Everyone panicked for nearly half an hour before another message was delivered over the loudspeaker. It alerted all to the end of the code red and ended with a code phrase taught to students so they know administrators aren't speaking under duress.
It wasn't until later in the day that everyone was told the drill was successful. It was the first time they all learned there was no real threat. The message was garbled and hard to hear in the lunchroom, where panic ensued as a result. The message, which sounded like another declaration of a code red, coupled with everyone being on edge from the morning's events, resulted in students rushing out of the building.
Parents of students, who were understandably terrified for their children's safety, were livid. Many students were beyond scared, with reactions including fainting, asthma attacks, and panic attacks.
The sheriff's office says that the drill was the result of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. The Valentine's Day shooting in Parkland was just three hours south of Lake Brantley High School.
Captain Rick Francis maintained that these unannounced drills would become standard in the area schools. The only issue he acknowledged with Lake Brantley's drill was a gross delay in notifying teachers. Principal Dr. Trent Daniel was not on campus when the drill occurred.
This reality faces students all over the country as we try to find the right balance of protecting students with advanced preparedness. Although the measure was part of a school security plan, many wish to see a country where students can focus more on their studies and less on possible disasters that might occur while they're in what's supposed to be a safe place.
