Staff Report

Manchester City Schools announced that during the week of Nov. 2-6 each of its schools will hold five different school safety drills as part of America’s School Safety Week.

The schools will hold a soft lockdown, hard lockdown, evacuation, a get inside drill and an AED drill.

A hard lockdown is a situation where there’s an imminent threat inside or outside the school. Personnel go to protective place, lock doors and remain quiet.

A soft lockdown is an external threat in the vicinity of the school. Exterior doors are locked down, but a regular school day continues.

An evacuation is an orderly, planned exit from the school, a fire drill, while a get inside drill is an orderly entrance to the school when conditions are safer inside than out.

An AED drill is designed for non-medical personnel to practice emergency procedures using an automated external defibrillator.

To limit the vulnerability of each school the specifics of the drills will not be announced. At various times there may be police and fire at one or more locations participating in the drills.

In addition to the drills, faculty and staff will spend time educating students in areas such as conflict resolution, see something, say something and bullying.