by Joe Frias
After the Newtown tragedy, schools across the nation have been making some big changes regarding school safety.
One of these changes at Hudson High School will impact the way we conduct lockdowns. The school is considering adopting a new lockdown policy known as A.L.I.C.E. This stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate.
During lockdowns, after all the rooms are secure, the school will give information about the situation over the P.A. In the past, students and faculty were expected to stay in their rooms until the code red was lifted. Now if there truly is a perpetrator in the building, students and faculty will be informed of his or her whereabouts and then can make the decision to evacuate.
“The school committee and the police are in talks to adopt the new policy,” says Officer Roger Downing. “We will have a final decision on the matter before school starts next year.”
History teacher Pam Porter does not think it is completely necessary.
“Schools are as safe as they should be right now,” said Porter. “We don’t have any big problems right now, and we shouldn’t be living in paranoia.”
According to Principal Brian Reagan, the school will also install a buzz-in type system over the summer. “How the system is used will be determined in the fall in alignment with a new school committee policy currently in draft form with the Policy Subcommittee of the School Committee.”
Media teacher Scott Darlington has nothing but praise for this change.
“This is a great idea for the school,” said Darlington. “You can’t just have the doors locked, but you also can not have just anyone walk in. If faculty and students just had to scan their IDs, that would be the best compromise.”
Freshman Tim Maye also likes this new system.
“Most universities do this now, so it has proven to be successful.”
Despite all these changes, Principal Brian Reagan believes the key to keeping us all safe is just to be aware.
“If something does not seem right or someone looks like they may not belong, staff should react immediately, and students should see an adult immediately.”
