Northside school practices lockdown drill Tuesday

Published 2:10 pm Wednesday, October 11, 2006

By By MICHAEL C. GUILMETTE JR. / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Niles schools cannot practice safety enough. This sentiment was on display Tuesday as Northside Elementary School practiced a lockdown drill.
"The design of our schools do not match today's society," Doug Law, superintendent for Niles Community Schools said while observing the drill. He pointed out how the school's main office is located in the middle of the building, which makes ensuring proper security measures a challenge.
In addition to state-mandated fire and tornado drills, Niles schools now also practice securing students in classrooms in the event of a dangerous incident. The schools practice two drills each year.
While fire and tornado drills are practiced for obvious threats, lockdowns are not as easily defined. Law said a lockdown may be used to protect children from any dangerous situation that may occur within the building – such as bitter custody disputes, an out of control person or a person with a weapon.
Cindy Wickham, Northside's principal, said the established procedure for a lockdown is for teachers to lock classroom doors, close the blinds and move the children away from the windows. Each classroom then waits quietly in darkness until given the all-clear signal.
Unlike fire and tornado drills, lockdown drills are conducted with the assistance of the City of Niles Police Department, since police officers would respond to actual lockdowns. On hand for the drill was Kevin Kosten, a patrolman with the Niles department.
"Everyone is taking [the drill] real seriously," Kosten said. During the drill, he proceeded from room to room making sure all doors were locked and the scene was secure.
Similar to a lockdown drill is a lockout drill, in which a school will seal its doors to prevent dangerous individuals from entering the facility, such as a fleeing suspect attempting to elude police. Law said Niles High School recently enacted a lockout after receiving a call from a parent warning the school that a student was upset and it was not known what he might do.
In light of recent shootings at schools across the nation, the administration felt a lockout was a prudent safety measure. Fortunately, Law said, there was no actual threat to the school, but the incident gave them a real world opportunity to practice.
"We can never practice enough," Law said.
The lockdown drills have been practiced at the middle school and high school level for the last three years, but now the drills have been expanded to include the elementary schools as well.