On September 17, Milton conducted its annual multi-hour Upper School lockdown training, which featured a presentation and simulated lockdown practices both outdoors and in classrooms.
Milton established the training over a decade ago “to protect our community in the event of an emergency situation that would require the securing of campus buildings,” explained Director of Campus Safety and Risk Management Jay Hackett.
To Toby Heikka ‘28, the national rise in school shootings underscores the importance of lockdown training. He thought the drill should have spanned the whole day. “In the U.S., gun violence is a constant threat,” he said. “Many students treated [the training] as some sort of joke.”
Erin Breva ‘27, however, suggested that the drill was sufficient. “School shootings are much less probable in Massachusetts than in other states, and Milton feels very safe,” she explained. “But I still think that it is important to do this drill because, no matter where you are, it’s possible that you may need it.”
For international boarders and day students newer to the U.S., the drill was an unfamiliar part of American culture. Laura Meli ‘28, who emigrated four years ago from Albania, where school shooting drills were not the norm, experienced her first real lockdown at her American middle school. She said that after this experience, lockdowns “just all suddenly felt so real and I realized that the U.S. was such a different environment.”
Leo Wan ‘28, reflecting on his transition from China to the U.S., said that he “knew about how a lot of people in the U.S. had guns” but still did not fear shootings, as “there are many more people not shot than shot.” Both Wan and Meli agreed that the lockdown training dedicated a sufficient amount of time to prepare the student body for the possibility of a shooter at Milton.
During the training hosted by Synergy Solutions, a company that partners with Milton to conduct safety training, co-owner Chris Baker delivered a brief presentation on the steps students should take in the case of an actual lockdown. He termed these steps the “Four L’s”: “locate” the danger, “lockdown” the school, “leave” the premises if the situation allows, and “live” by fighting the intruder as a last resort.
Baker cold-called audience members to keep the room engaged. Breva found Baker’s style to be effective, as “he did a fairly good job in a school where it takes a lot for classes to raise their hands and to yell out answers.” Heikka, on the other hand, critiqued Baker’s style, saying that he “was always trying to make jokes while presenting” and that he was dodging the severity of school shootings as “not a single time did he say the word gun, shoot, or kill.”
Milton’s Campus Safety takes multiple measures to ensure that the campus remains secure. Hackett explains that “maintaining locked exterior doors is [Milton’s] first line of defense.” Additionally, “officers [patrol] buildings as well as [monitor] card access and camera systems.” The school also “maintains an excellent working relationship with [the Milton police].” Aden Albert ‘29 remarked that “the security on the Milton campus makes [him] feel very safe.”
Another purpose of lockdown training is for Campus Security to confirm the efficacy of lockdown systems and protocols. Alarms and text messages should play, doors should lock, community members should barricade rooms, and after the drill, faculty should take attendance. Lockdown trainings “are very effective in order to help us to continuously improve our procedures and protocols,” Hackett says.
Breva summarized the training’s importance: “it might feel really boring to be sitting down in a room and listening to a really long lecture, but in the end, this is one of those trainings that is essential to remember.”