The aftermath of the Newtown, Connecticut shooting has affected people all over the United States, and as a nation we are in deep grief and remorse for the lives that were lost at this tragic event. However, in the process many of us at Harrisonburg High School may have reacted to this event a little differently.

The school was put on lock-down Wednesday December 19, 2012 after discovering a bullet in the boys bathroom, in addition to gun threats, and an estimated half of the entire student body was absent the Friday before winter break. HHS’ faculty and staff have discussed their thoughts and ideas for how they can better improve the procedures of an actual lock-down. Releasing a letter to the public the week before school was released for winter break, superintendent Dr. Kizner assured all students, parents and administration that Harrisonburg City Public Schools would not allow students to enter the school building unless they were absolutely sure that the area was secure. Another letter, sent out the week after winter break, stated that HCPS are continuing to perfect the lock-down procedures in all of the schools in the area, as well as ensuring that all students have a designated area to seek shelter in case of an actual lock-down.

“It’s a matter of education, everybody. I think that this is the main thing you will see,” principal Tracy Shaver said.

Shaver also feels that it is necessary to educate parents of students, as the overwhelming number of parents who came to pick up their child after receiving news of a lock-down were creating more of a problem than the lock-down itself.

“There was a concern that students had, the students contacted their parents, and the natural thing for parents to do is to come to school, which is what they did. However, we had some parents who were actually getting to the school before the police officers were here. And they started to line up out the front door and block our fire lanes. When we go into a crisis situation we really need our fire lanes open, so that our emergency response vehicles can get here,” Shaver said.

The faculty and staff hope to give students what they need to maintain a safe environment while in school. Though not looking to implement any further training throughout the administration, Shaver believes that we can maintain safety with improvements to the current lock-down procedure.

To see video interview, click here.