Opinion: School lockdown drills help, but only when done right

Aug 27, 2023

Steve Schaefer/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS

Atlanta Public Schools police officers participate in an active shooter training drill at the former Towns Elementary School in Atlanta on July 28.

Grace Weeks of Williamsburg graduated this weekend from the College of William & Mary with a degree in psychology, where she studied childhood trauma and its long-term impacts.

Six days into the new year, a 6-year-old from Newport News shot his first-grade teacher. Although this case stands out because of how young the shooter is, gun violence in schools continues to increase at an alarming rate. On Feb. 15, I woke up to the news that Michigan State University suffered a shooting that killed three students and wounded five others on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Parkland school shooting.

Schools, teachers and students must prepare for these emergencies. However, concerned parents on the Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools (WJCC) Facebook group debate the effectiveness and psychological effects unannounced lockdown drills have on students.

Although unannounced drills add a realistic element to practicing for emergencies, they instill fear and trauma in students who cannot distinguish drills from real situations. Not only can it be damaging psychologically, but the overuse of fake situations condition children to not take real situations seriously. Some parents believe unannounced drills are necessary to prepare children and staff for mass shooting scenarios, but others argue that unannounced drills cause more harm than good. Should these unannounced drills be the new normal?

The Virginia Department of Education requires public schools to conduct four lockdown drills during the school year, but the Emergency & Crisis Planning website for WJCC schools does not specify what drills are announced or unannounced. Additionally, state statutes about lockdown drills leave school administrators to decide how to conduct them. Within the WJCC Public Schools, Toano Middle School and Berkeley Middle School have taken advantage of these ambiguous requirements and have conducted unannounced lockdown drills.

Although in theory, unannounced drills could be more effective in preparing students for these emergencies, research says these drills do not prevent or protect schools from shootings and therefore, are not effective. In fact, anecdotal evidence on social media points to the harm these drills pose to mental health.

When this impact on mental health was studied, results showed an increase in depression, stress, anxiety and other physiological health problems in the 90 days after a lockdown drill. However, other data shows that announced lockdown drills are effective in lowering fear and helping students feel more prepared to respond to emergencies. The National Association of School Psychologists recommends announcing lockdown drills so that students can focus on gaining knowledge and skills for emergency preparedness. Despite the data, principals may choose to hold unannounced drills using the vague wording of drill requirements. The principals may be well-meaning but unaware of the harm unannounced drills cause.

Parents need to advocate for their children to minimize unnecessary harm and trauma from lockdown drills. Drills are less harmful when announced to students and school staff at the beginning of the drill.

Parents need to have conversations with their children and encourage them to share how they feel about unannounced drills and seek additional help from a guidance counselor or school psychologist as needed. Parents can also volunteer or join Parent Teacher Association (PTA) groups or become a member of the school board to get to know and network with the school community and to advise principals to make decisions on important issues such as drill procedures.

Parents should talk to other parents to see if others share similar opinions. There is greater power in numbers. They should have an open discussion with the principal, superintendent or school board about their concerns and discuss concerns about drills and emergency protocols with the school or division's safety and security coordinator.

Lockdown drills prepare students, but only when implemented correctly.

Grace Weeks of Williamsburg graduated this weekend from the College of William & Mary with a degree in psychology, where she studied childhood trauma and its long-term impacts. She plans to pursue science education and community outreach work.

Sign up for email newsletters