EFFECTIVENESS OF DRILLS AND TRAINING School safety lockdown exercises and evacuation drills are a common practice for teachers and their students. Eighty-nine percent of parents report that their child has participated in a school lockdown drill, while 96% of teachers have participated in this type of activity. Further, 82% of parents say that their child has participated in a drill specifically for active shooter preparedness, while 73% of teachers say that they have participated in these specific drills with students, and another 10% without students. Seventeen percent of teachers report they have not participated in these specific types of drills. This last statistic underscores the need for ongoing school and public safety collaboration so that all educators and school personnel have the most up-to-date emergency preparedness and response training. As part of their training, 57% of teachers report that they have engaged with law enforcement and first responders. Thirty-six percent haven’t engaged with these officials but want to. Of those who have interacted with first responders, only half (49%) of teachers say that these interactions included students. This integrated training may help students better understand emergency preparedness protocols and the most appropriate response strategies when crisis events unfold. How does this level of preparedness impact the confidence levels of caretakers? Parents are relatively confident in the training students at their child’s school receive (53%) and the training teachers/staff receive (55%).
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