Earthquake drills are a yearly mandatory routine at San Dimas high school. But the Sept. 15 lockdown caused by a student’s mental health crisis revealed another kind of emergency, one that can’t be sold by “drop cover and hold on.” The incident which ended safely raised many questions about how prepared schools are for common crises students face today.
Each year students take part in the great shakeout, a statewide earthquake drill that teaches how to stay safe during a quake. These drills are valuable and important but after the September lockdown it became clear that not all emergencies are physical. Sometimes danger comes from emotional distress rather than natural disasters. While these drills are very valuable some students and staff believe mental health emergencies and lockdowns deserve equal attention.
According to Assistant Principal Mr. Ravelo, the following district requirements for three main drills each year are an earthquake, a lockdown and a fire drill. Well that may seem like enough it doesn’t always prepare students or teachers for the unpredictable reality of mental health emergencies. Mr. Ravelo admitted that each situation affects people differently and understanding the emotional side of safety is just as important as knowing the physical steps.
After the lockdown, staff began discussing how to better support students and teachers once an emergency ended. “We realized that some people can’t just go straight back to work or class,” Ravelo said. That realization has led to the ideas like using the wellness center as a safe space for students and staff to decompress and process what happened.
All school employees receive training in child abuse awareness and mental health support so they can recognize signs of crisis early on. But even with training there’s still more that can be done. True safety Ravelo explained comes from teamwork from students, parents and teachers all playing their part.
Many students on campus agree. It’s easy to go through the motions of drills without thinking about why they matter but recent events showed how quickly a normal day can change. Mental health emergencies are becoming more common and they require calm communication and compassion not panic.
This is something schools across the country need to take more seriously. Earthquakes might be unpredictable but so are human emotions. We prepare for the ground to shake beneath us but not for the moment when one of our classmates might be the one’s falling apart.
Ravelo encourages students to take every lockdown seriously even if it turns out to be precautionary. Treating every situation with care and patience helps everyone stay safe and informed. In the end, Ravelo believed the goal was balanced. “My advice is to treat every lockdown as if it were real. Stay quiet, follow your teachers instructions, and avoid spreading false information online,” Ravelo said and thats something we should all remember.
