Loudoun County Public Schools has recently been introduced to “Run, Hide, Fight,” a new decision making process that “teachers are now empowered to undertake in the event of a violent intruder” entering the school, as stated by Warren Pelton, the representative from the LCPS Division of Safety and Security that has been traveling county wide to introduce this new training.

The training was introduced to the staff of DHS on February 1, 2017 at 4:00 PM, teaching them of the new program that was being enforced by the LCPS School Board. As this was an introductory session to the program, no vigorous training occurred.

“Rather than a centralized one-size-fits-all decision, which is usually impossible and impractical during a violent intruder event, the decision on whether to run, hide, or right is made by the teacher (or supervising adult) based on the conditions in their immediate location; which may be drastically different in various parts of the school,” Pelton said.

The new program was brought into LCPS as it is considered the “current ‘best practice’ recommended by law enforcement and security experts, including the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office,” Pelton said. The core idea of the training was to create more options for schools during such situations.

In regards to drills being implemented within LCPS schools, Pelton said “we may augment our lockdown drills in the future with an evacuation to simulate the actions taken after the initial threat has been removed, and law enforcement has control of the building.  We are in preliminary discussions with local law enforcement agencies regarding coordinated drills,” Pelton said.

Mr. Lipovsky, the security specialist here at Dominion High School, said, “the training was an introductory session held within the school to teach staff members of the new options that parallel the best practices in the case of an intruder entering the school.”

Mr. Pelton wishes to inform members of the Titan Territory “that students are the most crucial component when it comes to school safety. Students should familiarize themselves with the “See Something Say Something” Program in which LCPS is a partner. They should report any threats they hear or read on social media to their school’s SRO, Safety Specialist, administration and/or LCPS Safety and Security; no matter how innocuous the threat may at first appear.”

Students should also remain vigilant by remaining aware of their surroundings, and never let anyone enter their school other than through the established check-in procedures at the front door.