Lockdown Drill Information & Participation

October 1, 2024

Dear Parents and Guardians:

The safety and well-being of our students, staff, and families is of the utmost importance. In order to maintain a safe environment for our children to study and learn, it is necessary that we practice our emergency and crisis response plans, including a Lockdown Drill. We are required by state law to conduct a minimum of one lockdown drill per school year that involves the presence of law enforcement officials to ensure that our students know their role during a potential threat.

The district works in cooperation with the Skokie Police Department to conduct annual lockdown drills that focus on enacting appropriate evacuation procedures or safely sheltering all students, staff, and visitors inside the building. Administration will walk through the building to ensure that staff and students are following the appropriate procedures outlined in a lockdown drill. The drill requires students to sit quietly and away from windows and doors. This drill is practiced in the event that an intruder is present in the building or within the community.

Our district has started to implement components of ALICE Training to increase safety to students and staff in cases of crisis. ALICE is an organization committed to empowering schools with crisis response training. We will begin practicing components of those practices during hard lockdown drills in the 2024-2025 school year.

We hope that our staff and students will never experience the need to use the strategies learned during these drills, but will be prepared if such an incident occurs.

Based on updated legislation, parents and guardians can choose to not have their child participate in the lockdown drill. Students who opt out of the lockdown drill will be supervised in an alternate space within the building and for the duration of the drill. Students will receive verbal guidance around drill procedures, but will not be expected to practice the procedures. If you would like your child to opt out of the lockdown drill that is scheduled for Thursday, October 24, 2024, please complete the attached form and return to the school office by Friday, October 18, 2024.

If you have any questions, please contact a building administrator.

Sincerely,

The Skokie 73.5 Administrative Team