Hastings High School students reflect on living with lockdown drills

The following story resulted from a mentorship program between professional and student journalists facilitated by the Rivertowns Dispatch. The writer, Frieda Belasco, is the co-editor of Hastings High School’s newspaper, The Buzzer, which will also publish this story.

“Lockdown, lockdown,” the stern, eerie recording repeats over the school’s loudspeaker.

Students, who were warned about the drill ahead of time, move to a corner, out of sight of the classroom door, and sit on the floor. The teacher turns the lights off and covers the windows before joining them. Everyone is silent. Some play on their phones, while others read books or complete homework. After about 20 minutes, an administrator unlocks the door and declares the drill is over.

The experience is not out of the ordinary for the students. They have engaged in lockdown drills since kindergarten. About 95% of K-12 public schools nationwide use lockdown drills to prepare students for a live-shooter situation. Since 2016, New York has required every school to conduct at least four drills a year, in which hallways are cleared, doors are locked or barricaded, and students and staff “hide from view, and remain silent while readying a plan of evacuation as a last resort,” according to the New York State government website.