Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Preparing for Emergencies

  • By Thom Jones
  • 11/01/17

Performing drills disrupts the flow of an already-full school day. Without adding more time to the drill, how can schools ensure they are getting the most value from these activities?

Teach staff to initiate the drill. The principal typically announces a drill. But the person most likely to encounter an emergency, like a strange odor or a student with a knife, is actually a staff member. Teaching staff to initiate drills gives them the means and responsibility to help keep students safe.

Use scenarios to put the drill in context. When a real emergency hits, emotion and adrenaline will significantly affect how successfully everyone responds. Scenarios put drills in context and incorporate a level of emotion and adrenaline. For example, the principal hands a 6th grade math teacher the following scenario printed on an index card, “You’re in the middle of teaching a class when you and several students notice smoke and flames coming through the ceiling tiles just over your head. Go!” Now, it’s up to the teacher to respond and alert the building.

Assess the fidelity of your safety plan. In addition to preparing for various emergencies, drills tell you if your safety plan works. We’ve all encountered situations where what looks good on paper doesn’t hold up in a real scenario. Documenting lessons and modifying your safety plan is critical to ensuring a safe learning environment.

Putting drills in context and empowering staff to initiate them improves staff engagement, better preparing everyone to respond effectively during a drill or emergency. It ensures the right safety plan is in place, which is valuable.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

About the Author

Thom Jones is the general manager of NaviGate Prepared. He can be reached at 740/963-3141.

Featured

  • classroom with crystal ball on top of a desk

    Call for Opinions: Spaces4Learning 2026 Predictions for Educational Facilities

    As 2025 winds to a close, the Spaces4Learning staff is asking its readers—school administrators, architects, engineers, facilities managers, builders, superintendents, designers, vendors, and more—to send us their predictions for educational facilities in 2026.

  • El Paso District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    The Canutillo Independent School District in El Paso, Texas, recently announced that construction has begun on a 119,000-square-foot elementary school, according to a news release. The district partnered with Pfluger Architects, Carl Daniel Architects, and LDCM Solutions on the new Davenport Elementary School, which has an expected completion date of 2027.

  • Preparing for the Next Era of Healthcare Education, Innovation

    Across the country, public universities and community colleges are accelerating investments in healthcare education facilities as part of a broader strategy to address workforce shortages, modernize outdated infrastructure, and expand clinical training capacity. These projects, which are often located at the center of campus health and science districts, are no longer limited to traditional classrooms.

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.