Creek Speak February 2018 | Page 13

Officer Staci Stallings, the school’s resource officer, believes that having some of the drills at more inconvenient times would help better students’ awareness, and readiness. The example she gave was having a lockdown drill during a passing period to see what everyone would do. “It’s surprising what people do instinctually,” Stallings remarked. During lockdown drills, Stallings will go around the school checking to make sure every door is locked, and will sometimes bring other police officers to give them practice as well. Although students are released from a lockdown drill by the intercom, Stallings would like to note that students will always be released from their classrooms by a uniformed officer in a real lockdown. The state mandated drills that are practiced at Silver Creek High School are practiced with the hope that they will never be needed. With these drills in place, students will know where to go and what to do, and staff will know how to lead and protect themselves, and the others from danger. If there is a threat, the school’s students and staff will be prepared for the worst, and hopeful for the best. The seriousness and significance of practicing these drills, and doing them well, can never be emphasized enough, because they could mean the difference between life and death.