Intruder drill

A few days ago Chuck asked if Steve or Glenn would come to his school and wander the halls, pretending to be an intruder. Steve had work today, so I took Glenn to the school at 10:00 a.m. On the way there he asked what he should say if anyone spoke to him. I told him that if anyone asked if he needed help, or what/who he was looking for, he should say something to the effect that what he was doing didn't concern them. I told him to just act weird and determined, and not to smile.

He made it all the way down one hall, then another. He started sauntering back down the first hall, when finally a teacher stopped him. She asked him something. He didn't respond. Then she asked if he'd checked in at the office. He told he didn't need to check in to the office. She told him to go to the office. He refused. Then she started yelling at him to go to the office, while making 'shoo-ing' gestures with her arms. Glenn told me later that by then he could see that she was shaking and he started thinking, "What if she gets so scared she has a heart attack or stroke? - I'd feel awful!" So he slowly turned around and ambled towards the office with the teacher behind him.

In the office, two of the staff asked him what he needed, and did he have a child enrolled there? He avoided eye contact and mumbled that he didn't have "no kids." Both of those ladies later confessed to an adrenaline rush right then, but Glenn stopped the act and asked if Chuck was there. He said their relief was expressed in whoops and hollers!

Unfortunately, the drill showed that the teachers and staff need to tighten up their responses a bit. Having this drill so soon after the recent school tragedies will no doubt make them remember what to do and do it more quickly the next time they test their responses.