Drills are annoying, interrupting important class time. It’s scary never knowing if they’re real or practice. But there’s a reason drills come unannounced like this: the element of surprise. There’s no way of knowing when fires will start or security will be breached. In a real crisis situation, students and teachers must be appropriately prepared to protect themselves– and that’s where drills come in.
Since 1966, there have been a total of 155 enacted and attempted school shootings in Florida. Just earlier this year, William T. Dwyer High School was threatened when a student brought a stolen firearm onto campus. The Benjamin Upper School went into lockdown during this time. While Benjamin has many measures in place to protect its students and faculty, there’s always a risk. “School shootings, as tragic as they are, are a thing,” explained Mr.Crisafi, our Dean of Students at the Middle School. “We have to be prepared for things you can’t prepare for.” According to Education Week’s tracker, there have been a total of 27 school shootings in which injury and death occurred so far this year. While we might not be able to stop these things from happening, we can try.
Although it may seem a bit silly, doing drills can save lives. During the first drill of the year, administration discovered that one of the doors in Building 14 refused to lock. In a real code red situation, Building 14’s problem could’ve resulted in fatality. It’s issues like this one that drills allow to be discovered and fixed. But they can’t catch everything. “Certain drills may not necessarily be correct just because they’ve been used for so many years,” said eighth grader Lucas Muzzillo. “I think [the faculty] should make different scenarios for different classrooms. For example, being in a room up [in the STEM building] is a completely different thing from being in a classroom like Mr.Ginnetty’s with a closet.”
Muzzillo argues that some of Benjamin’s practice protocols are outdated, and he’s not wrong. Over the years, our campus has gone through different renovations, yet drill procedures haven’t seen much change. Different classrooms also have different layouts. Mrs. Ferguson’s room, for instance, has no closets or extra spaces for students to hide in, but classrooms like Mrs. Ryan and Mr. Saccone’s have connecting back rooms that could fit whole classes inside. Rather than having the same drills for everyone, adjustments could be made to properly cater to distinct classrooms.
On the other hand, some students feel perfectly sound with Benjamin’s codes. “I think [school drills] are good how they are,” said eighth grader Sydney Beach, who’s been at TBS since WOW. “There’s always room for more security though.” As Beach mentioned, the Benjamin campus is heartily equipped with security. Traffic directors seen during dropoff and pickup time double as a team of armed officers, which greatly shortens the wait time for police arrival in a real color code. Benjamin also works closely with North Palm Beach Police, Palm Beach Gardens Police, NPB Fire Rescue, and PBG Fire Rescue. At the beginning of the year, faculty and members of the above forces performed practice drills, acquainting themselves with the campus and its protocols. By performing drills and taking feedback, Benjamin’s safety continues to strengthen.
According to the Florida Department of Education, all schools K-12 are required to run six emergency drills per year. As the number of annual school shooting and threat occurrences climb, these practices become more and more important. It’s Benjamin’s duty to protect students, and cooperation with drills greatly helps with this goal.
