Lockdown at Stoneham High School
Published on February 20th, 2008
STONEHAM, MA - Police officials recently walked away quite pleased from the results of a lockdown drill at Stoneham High School last Friday, just before the start of February vacation break.
According to Stoneham Police Chief Richard Bongiorno and Sgt. Robert Kennedy, the exercise was executed last Friday during the last period of the school day.
And with many students extremely excited to exit the high school with an approaching vacation, to commence just 45 minutes after the drill was called, the lockdown drill went much smoothly than anyone could have hoped.
"Generally, I was very pleased. It went very well at the high school. There were some minor deficiencies noted, but nothing critical," said Bongiorno.
"It went very well. The staff and students' response was excellent," said Kennedy. "As a parent of a high school student, I was curious to see how things would go. And I'm very confident having a child there, in case something happens."
Last September, SHS Principal Ed Russo reportedly approached Kennedy and other police officials to inquire about conducting the drill, which apparently hadn't been practiced at the school for some time.
Lockdown drills, which became a nationwide precaution and emergency response procedure in the wake of the Columbine shootings in April of 1999, entails securing a building in the event of such a dire incident.
All of the building's entrances and means of egress are locked, so that no unauthorized person can enter the facility, while each classroom and instructional space is also secured to keep potential dangers away from staff and students.
During a lockdown, students and teachers are instructed to lock the classroom entrance, close all window shades, and then to gather in one corner of a classroom.
In addition, teachers or students are asked to put a symbol in place, so that responding authorities can determine whether those in a particular space are safe or in need of medical or other assistance.
According to Kennedy, in addition to being pleased by the informed and proper response of staff and students, local police were also quite surprised with just how secure the building was during the drill.
Many older buildings that were not designed with school violence or emergency situations in mind often prove difficult to lock down, as many exterior and interior spaces can't be secured.
"Absolutely," responded Kennedy, when asked if locking down SHS has been difficult in previous years because of those design limitations. "But this year in particular, that building has been very, very tight. Teachers have been very conscientious to make sure the doors are locked."
"Ed Russo has taken it to another level. And that speaks to the staff as well, having a lot of new teachers. It shows that they're eager," the police Sgt. continued. "I figured that we'd have some problems with doors. But they replaced a few of the front doors and cured some of those door issues."
According to Asst. Supt. Anne Patriquin, who participated in the exercise along with the entire central office staff, administrators are planning to conduct a lockdown drill in each of Stoneham's educational facilities this year.
While both Patriquin and Kennedy admit that the procedure doesn't guarantee the safety of every staff member and student in the event of an emergency, the practice will likely save a number of lives, should one of the town's schools ever be the scene of a violent tragedy.
The asst. supt. also stressed that locking down a building is not only executed in response to threats from inside a school building, but also in the event that an emergency situation occurs outside school grounds. Recalling one such occasion when she was still employed in Georgetown, Patriquin explained that one building was locked down after a nearby bank was robbed.
"You do these drills to hope you never have to use them," the asst. supt. said. "It's good practice. You'd like to think it would never happen, but you can't do that in today's world. I think it gives reassurance to both parents and kids that their safety is our number one priority."
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