Emergency Preparedness Drills

Drill Overview:

Schools across Washington state are required to offer a minimum of one emergency preparedness drill per month. The purpose of drills is to help students, staff and families know how to respond in the event of an emergency.

• Shelter in Place (hazardous chemical outside)
• Lockdown or modified lockdown (dangerous situation on school campus or in the local vicinity)
• Evacuation (fire)
• Drop-cover-hold on (earthquake)

Drill Timeline:

• All schools have a safety plan that is updated annually and includes drill procedures. 
• School leaders collaborate with the FPS Safety and Security Department to map out dates for drills to take place throughout the school year. These dates are not publicized in order to better simulate a real event, and to reduce the likelihood of students and staff altering regular activities to anticipate the drill.
• When possible, schools will announce to families that a drill is happening prior to the drill. This could come in the form of a newsletter, phone message or email.

• A school administrator announces one of the three drills listed above (shelter in place, evacuation, lockdown or drop-cover-hold on)
• An announcement is made on the school automated notification system noting that the school is conducting an emergency preparedness drill. 
• Staff, students and visitors in the school follow the drill procedure based on the school safety plan and best practices. Please note that visitors arriving at a school during a drill will be asked to stay outside the school building until the drill is over.
• A district staff member (and sometimes representatives from outside agencies such as law enforcement or first responders) will walk though the school to ensure that protocols are being followed. During a lockdown drill, staff and/or law enforcement personnel may enter the room to analyze positioning, whether or not doors/windows were secure, etc.
• An announcement is made on the school automated notification system that the drill is complete. Most drills take between 20-40 minutes.
• District staff and school staff meet to debrief what went well and areas of improvement.

• School leaders will follow up individually with staff or students who did not adhere to the drill protocol.
• When possible, schools will announce to families that a drill has occurred.