A loud percussions ring out and everyone screams. The teacher locks the door and tells the class to remain calm. A voice on the intercom rings out and announces a Code Red. What is a Code Red?
In Hastings High, a Code Red is the protocol for when there is potential danger near or within the school grounds. All doors will be locked, all students will remain in the classroom, and teachers will take class attendance.
It is important to know this protocol, made apparent by the January 5 shooting at Millard South High School, near Omaha, in which a student brought a firearm to school and shot the principal and the vice-principal.
Millard South's Code Red is basically identical to Hastings High's. Millard South's Communications Director Amy Friedman explains the steps they went through when the shooting took place. "Immediately after the shooting, the shooter fled, we called 911 and then we announced on the intercom a code Red. The lights were turned out and the windows were covered. The students were locked in their rooms and the teachers made rosters of the students in their room. The students were waiting in the room until the shooter was found. After we were sure we were safe, we evacuated the school, room by room, to the next door church where parents picked their students up."
Code Red was a regular drill that Millard South practiced every year, in preparation for something like this possibly happening.
"It was very unfortunate that this had to happen, but that's why we have drills and plans, and they paid off in the real incident," Friedman said.
Hastings High has also practiced Code Red in the past when drug searches were being made with K-9s and the doors were locked.
"Having the dogs there was a great chance to be able to practice our drill," Principal Jay Opperman said.
There are two other emergency drills in Hastings High in place besides Code Red. There is Code Green which green means "Go", and in that code the school evacuates to a secure location, which is Champions YMCA. The last code is Code Yellow in which the doors leading in and out of the building are locked, but all activity with in the school is regular.
Code Yellow has been practiced in Hastings High before.
"There was a crazy looking guy running around outside. We decided to play it safe and we went to Code Yellow," Opperman says.
The administration team at Hastings High is very prepared to activate these codes, as the entire team was trained by the state in 2009 for safety.
Having a plan in place for extreme events is very important and will pay off if the time ever comes. But having a plan to evacuate or lock down the school is not the only way to protect students and faculty.
"The best way to be safe is to just have good relationships between the students with other students and faculty. Communication is the key," Opperman said.