By Lindsay Peyton
The recent shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. resulted in the death of 17 and sparked protests and debates across the country.
While lawmakers struggle determine their next steps to prevent future attacks, there’s one thing for certain. Parents want to ensure the safety of their children.
Catherine Carbone Rogers, chief communications officer at Highline Public Schools, said the district has received a couple emails since the shooting in Florida. Typically, parents reach out after this type of disaster, she explained.
“It always raises the alarm a little bit,” Carbone Rogers said. “It gives us an opportunity to provide parents with more information.”
Ty Swenson, director of communications with South Seattle College, said that whenever he receives a call from a concerned parent, he connects them with the campus’ security department and online resources.
“South Seattle College puts a significant focus on developing, evaluating and continually improving our emergency preparedness procedures and training,” he said. “It’s critical that our students, faculty and staff are able to teach and learn in a safe environment.”
Swenson said that staff and students were saddened to hear about the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
“It’s a natural reaction to reflect on one’s personal safety and the emergency procedures in place at your school, college or university,” he said. “At South, we make it a priority to communicate with staff and students in the aftermath of these tragedies to not only remind them of the procedures in place at the college and the steps they can take to stay informed in case of emergency situations, but to also connect them with resources for support if they are experiencing understandable anxiety.”
For students, on-campus counselors are available. Staff has access to services provided by the Washington State Employee Assistance Program.
Both South Seattle and Highline School District have specific procedures in place in case of an active shooter.
At Highline School District, lock-down drills are held regularly on each campus. Carbone explained that, through these exercises, students learn how to respond to a shooter, as well as a natural disaster.
Carbone said there is a district-wide emergency plan, as well as specialized plans for each individual school. There are also specific sites where groups can reunite. “Each scenario is a little different,” Carbone Rogers said.
The district has an emergency command structure. “The superintendent and her team all have roles,” Carbone Rogers said. “We all know what our jobs are in case there is something going on.”
Principals are also involved and each campus has a structure in place for handling emergency situations.
South Seattle College has an Emergency Planning Action Committee that meets regularly and is part of the district-wide Seattle Colleges Emergency Planning Action Committee.
“We’ve developed a Seattle Colleges Emergency Action Plan that lays out procedures and guidance on many situations, from earthquakes to lockdowns,” Swenson said.
Procedures are outlined online at http://seattlecolleges.edu/district/emergencies/workplace911.aspx.
“Our safety and security department holds training sessions in classrooms and other departments across campus to walk staff and students through the steps they need to take if the college goes into lockdown,” Swenson said.
South Seattle holds quarterly drills to prepare for emergencies. “We also encourage everyone on campus to actively monitor their surroundings and contact security if they see or hear suspicious activity, and share a map of emergency phones across campus,” Swenson said.
