“It’s kind of emotional,” said Superintendent Dr. Sarah Zatik. “It’s like anything else you want to be good at. You have to practice. It’s about practicing.”
She likened it to a fire drill, which is routinely conducted once a month.
“There haven’t been any school fires, as I understand, since 1958,” she said. “Why? Because we’re prepared.”
In two different training sessions on Friday, a shooter entered the school, shooting two students and then a teacher inside a classroom. Police then enter, searching each classroom until they hear gunshots and kill the shooter.
Some educators stood and watched in the hallways, and others played the roles of students inside the classrooms. As each action was played out, an Englewood police officer narrated the officers’ strategy over a public address system.
“Lockdown (drills) are still only required by Ohio law once a year,” said school resource officer Corey Follick, of the Englewood police. “That’s sometime we emphasize here in the district … they’re doing drills more frequently so staff are prepared.
School was not in session on Friday. The training was part of a professional development day for both teachers and non-teachers. After the mock shooting, staff members listened to a presentation from police.
Englewood police Sgt. Mike Lang said a partnership and dialogue with the schools is “paramount.”
“We hope we never have a serious incident,” he said. “But training like this prepares everyone if we do.”
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