School violence leaves administrators and schools with unique challenges in providing for students’ physical and emotional safety. Active shooter drills and school lockdowns are common, mandated events. The goal of these drills is to keep schools safe, but their emotional side-effects include increased anxiety, uncertainty and stress (on top of the “normal” levels of stress teachers and students already experience every day).

The effects of school shootings can be seen and felt in all schools, at all age levels. It is important to consider social-emotional health when creating, practicing and enacting lockdown procedures, and preparing your staff to manage both their own and their students’ needs before, during and after these drills.

Listen in as Diane Phelan, Principal of Keller Middle School, shares how she and her staff prepare for active shooter situations and lockdown drills.

Essential Takeaways

• Communication with students before, during and after lockdown drills is crucial.

• Teachers managing their inner states during drills enables them to help students manage their inner states.

• Know what triggers fear, anxiety and other difficult emotions for teachers and students so you can coach healthy responses for all.

• Students will respond to how teachers manage themselves during drills.

Steps for Tomorrow

• Embed social-emotional learning deeply into the practices of your emergency drills

• Learn to regulate emotional states during times of distress.

• Have a plan for helping teachers and students transition back to teaching and learning after emergency drills.

Important Links

www.ConsciousDiscipline.com

http://keller.pasadenaisd.org (Keller Middle School)

Products

• Conscious Discipline: Building Resilient Classrooms

Show Outline

:19 What is Conscious Discipline?

1:15 Today’s topic: School Shootings

3:55 Active shooter drills compared to emergency drills of the past

6:29 Introduction of guest Diane Phelan

8:40 How Keller Middle School prepares teachers and students for lockdown drills

10:20 Keller Middle School lockdown procedures

12:45 Diane’s story about triggered teachers and students during tornado event

15:02 Discussing lockdowns with faculty

17:56 Diane’s essential take-aways

19:58 Transitioning teachers and students back to teaching and learning after drills

21:30 Summary of helpful strategies during lockdown and emergency drills

23:50 What is Becky up to these days?