The following letter came into my inbox.  My guess is that parents at Cary-Grove, Crystal Lake South and Prairie Ridge High Schools got similar ones.

Dear Parents:

At Crystal Lake Central and across District 155, we make your child’s safety our number one priority each day. As a parent myself, I can assure you that we understand our responsibility to return your child safely at the end of each day.

While we take many preventative steps to keep our building secure, we also practice our response should a crisis arise. Some examples include meetings with first responders, a comprehensive crisis response plan, and simulations.

Our next planned lockdown drill will take place on Tuesday, October 22. My administrative team and I feel it is important to  explain  what  will  occur  during the  drill so that  you  and  your  child might  be  able to  better understand what will be expected.

The simulation will take approximately 15‐20 minutes during which time teachers will secure their rooms, draw curtains, and keep their students from traveling throughout the building. Our school resource officer and the

Crystal Lake Police Rapid Response Team will assist us in sweeping the building to ensure that all students are in a secure location during the drill. The Rapid Response Team will be examining the building for all types of scenarios.  Please be aware that we will not be enacting any active scenarios or simulated gunfire as a part of this drill.  Last year, we conducted a drill of this kind with students, and we feel it is important to establish the protocols and routines so that all students understand the lockdown procedure. At the conclusion of the drill, we will return to our normal classroom routine.

I encourage you to discuss the drill with your student both before it happens and after. These drills help our students and staff to be prepared should a crisis occur, but sometimes, it may cause some students to have an emotional reaction. In those cases, your voice may provide reassurances of the drill’s importance.  Additionally, we have trained social workers on staff who can speak directly with your child should he or she need added support.

If you have any questions, please contact me or any member of Central’s administrative team.  Together, we can

keep our schools a safe place for your child to learn and grow.

Sincerely,

Steve Olson
Principal