“Teachers, we’re going into lockdown.”
When Brittney Etheridge, a teacher at Dawson Elementary School in Huntsville, hears those words over the school intercom, she knows what to do.
Check the hallway for any kids who might be out there and pull them into her classroom. Lock the door. Turn off the lights and gather her students into the corner of their classroom, away from the door.
In a real situation, she might get an emergency text on her phone through a texting app, where teachers can communicate with each other – without making noise – to let other teachers know the whereabouts of students who might have been in the hallway or bathroom when the lockdown occurred.
Rachel Evans, an assistant principal at Riverton Elementary School in Madison County, said her students and staff go through a similar drill. Law enforcement officials have told principals that children should have something ready to throw at an intruder if he were able to get into the classroom.
The image of children armed with books or scissors confronting an intruder with an assault rifle gives her chills, she said.