In order to comply with the Governor's requirement following the horrific school shooting in Uvalde, all Texas schools must schedule their emergency drills prior to the start of the 2022-2023 school year and ensure that school staff are trained to implement the appropriate safety procedures.
Under state law, Texas schools are required to conduct a minimum of ten safety drills per school year:
- One secure drill
- Two lockdown drills (one per semester)
- One evacuation drill
- One shelter-in-place for hazmat drill
- One shelter-in-place for severe weather drill
- A minimum of four fire safety drills (at least two per semester, or more if recommended by the local fire safety marshal)
We had our first fire drill today, and I am so proud of our students. Everyone followed directions well and remained on Code 1 throughout the drill. We were able to evacuate the building in 3 minutes and 43 seconds. Our goal is to evacuate the building in 3 minutes or less. Way to go, FWAFA!
Next week, we will have a lock-down drill. Lockdown is used when there is a threat inside the school building. For example, a wrong person entered, a weapon report, or something worse such as an armed intruder or some other threat inside the building.
We use the Standard Response Protocol from the I Love You Guys Foundation. It is based on five actions that we take during an incident or an emergency. These are Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate, and Shelter. Each action is followed by a directive. Every action then has specific instructions of what to do in an emergency.
We will talk to students during assembly and in class about what a lockdown drill is and its purpose in a developmentally appropriate way using the materials from the I Love You Guys Foundation.
If you have questions about the drills, please email jennifer.jackson@fwafa.org.
