By now, you’ve seen the headlines.
Last week, a gunman shot and killed 10 people, including himself, at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore., adding yet another incident to an already-long list of mass shootings. It begs the question: What if a gunman showed up at a local school?
Pine Ridge Elementary in Kyana answered that question last year when the school received an anonymous call that said, “I’m on your roof. I’m going to shoot your kids.” The school went on lockdown and law enforcement flooded the school. Police searched the grounds but found no one. The call came from Dallas, Texas. Thankfully, no gunman was at the school. The incident gave administrators and law enforcement a chance to see the plan in action, though.
“We’re pretty well prepared,” said Southeast Dubois Schools Superintendent Rick Allen. “Especially after Newtown,” the Connecticut shooting in 2012 that killed 20 children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary.
Each corporation works in conjunction with local law enforcement to form plans to prevent and react to threats on campus. Each semester, schools conduct lockdown drills and review safety procedures with students and staff.
Corporations also have a designated safety team that is trained and certified through the Indiana Department of Education. State law requires each corporation to form a team, but having a team in each school is optional.
State law formerly required each school to have a team, and most local schools maintain their teams to be proactive. Team members renew their certifications annually to learn best practices. Four of the five principals make up North Spencer School Corporation’s team. They lead workshops to keep everyone up to date.
“These plans change with every incident,” said North Spencer Superintendent Dan Scherry. “Law enforcement evaluates the incidents, and that trickles down to the schools. In the last five or so years, we’ve gone from locking our doors, to not locking them, to now locking them again.”
The Dubois County School Safety Commission meets quarterly to share ideas and procedures. The commission consists of school personnel, law enforcement, firefighters and representatives from counseling centers such as Crisis Connection. As a result of the commission, schools let police officers enter the buildings to familiarize themselves with layouts and see what happens throughout the day.
“It’s a way for us to collaborate as a county,” said Tracy Lorey, superintendent of Greater Jasper schools and the chair of the commission. “A lot of times, we as educators view things one way, but enforcement views things through their special lens. We think together we can better prepare for any situations we might face.”
Each individual school also has its own plan. Details of the plans depend on the building’s layout as well as the surrounding neighborhood. Southeast Dubois, for example, has different plans for Ferdinand Elementary, located in town, than it has for Pine Ridge Elementary, a rural school.
“Ferdinand has houses nearby, so if a one of them has a gas leak or catches fire, that’s going to affect us,” Allen said. “At Pine Ridge, we don’t have that.”
Jasper High School runs an annual intruder drill with students, staff and law enforcement. Law enforcement enter the school during the day just as they would in an emergency.
“It’s as much a drill for us to practice how we would respond in a situation like that as it is for law enforcement,” Lorey said.
In an emergency, Vincennes University Jasper Campus can call on resources from the flagship campus in Vincennes, using VU police officers if they have enough lead time, as well as counselors in the aftermath. VUJC also offers counseling services on site.
“A lot of these (shootings) are tied to mental illness,” said VUJC Dean Chris Gray. “We offer counselor services on both our campuses. We’re trying to be proactive.”
Even with all the plans, school safety begins before any threat is present. It’s part of the everyday operations of schools through exterior doors that remain locked during the school day, requiring visitors to be buzzed in and tracking visitors when they enter and exit the buildings. There are also systems in place for students or the public to anonymously report someone or something that could be a threat.
“We’re kind of at the mercy of people being informants,” Scherry said. “We’ve taken steps, but we are dependent on people informing us.”