Do you know what your child’s school lockdown drill looks like? I didn’t. My son is in middle school, and he recently shared some eye-opening things.

Many times, especially in the older grades, they are unannounced. This means that for the duration of the drill, your child is huddled in a corner, in the dark, not knowing if there is an active shooter in their school. Think about that and how your body would respond in that situation.

The drills are for resource officers’ training as well. This means that in the lockdown drill at my son’s school, a resource officer entered the classroom without informing the huddled students who they were and proceeded to search the classroom. They didn’t know if it was a shooter or a resource officer.

My son has imagined he heard gunshots during drills. Another time they went from room to room wiggling the doorknobs banging on the doors. The students could hear them getting closer. Again, the students did not know if this was real or not. And this happens repeatedly for 13 years of schooling.

Is this not a recipe for trauma? Schools should absolutely be prepared for an incident, but not while causing harm. Kids are not “used to it,” and they don’t “find them funny.” Imagine the kids who already have mental health challenges or trauma. Kids’ mental health is in crisis everywhere, and this can’t be helping. We have to do better.

Amy Connolly
Falmouth