From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
TRUSSVILLE — The Trussville City Schools’ “Safety Review Team” are in talks for implementing a new safety drill on campuses sometime in the spring. The “Switch Drill” is a new step that will be practiced by students during their regular monthly drills.
Meetings will be held with teachers and administrators before students begin practicing the drill. After it’s performed, the Safety Review Team will address feedback for any improvements that may be needed.
According to Superintendent Pattie Neil, the Switch Drill will involve several steps. A new edition of TCS’s “In the Loop” outlined the steps presented below:
- Switch Drills” will start as a fire drill, and switch to a lockdown.
- When the fire drill sounds, students and teachers proceed as normal to their designated areas.
- They will listen carefully for the fire drill alert to switch to lockdown alert.
- When the fire drill changes to a lockdown, students should go to the nearest empty classroom.
- Teachers should be prepared to lower the shades and lock the door in a classroom that may not be their classroom.
- However, it may be possible for teachers and students to return to their own classroom for the lockdown.
- More than one set of students may end up in a random classroom.
- “Switch Drills” will start small in a single hallway until the whole school is ready.
- The Fire Department and SRO will know the times and dates of the “Switch Drills”.
“School safety is of paramount importance to your City and School System leaders,” Neil stated. “We hope this new drill adds value to our existing safety plans.”