ROCK SPRINGS — According to a SWCSD#1 press release:

Student Safety and Security at Sweetwater County School District #1

On Tuesday, September 15, 2015, East Side Elementary School conducted a Lockdown Drill simulating a threat to the student body. During the drill the Standard Response Protocol was used to ensure that students and staff were isolated as securely as possible against all threats. Rock Springs Police Department, East Side Elementary Principal Brent McMurtrey, Sweetwater County School District #1 Administrators and Rock Springs Fire Department personnel coordinated an evaluation of the lockdown drill, followed by a systematic clearing of the classrooms and offices as would occur in a real-life situation.

After the drill, Public Safety Officials and School District Administrators discussed the implications of the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) and the outcomes as they apply to the safety and security of students and schools district wide.

This drill, and many more to come, are part of a District-wide implementation of the SRP as a common platform to promote consistency during emergency situations – whether the issue is accidental in nature, as in the case of a fire, or an actual threat from within or outside of a school building.

The coordination comes as part of a new collaboration between the School District, Rock Springs Fire Department and Rock Springs Police Department to ensure that everyone knows how to respond under all circumstances. It is the goal of these entities to hone the reaction of students and staff and the response of police and fire so that actions in an actual emergency are second nature.  

Although these drills represent situations which everyone hopes never occur, the actual practice will provide an ingrained response by all to promote the health and longevity of a productive learning environment free from threats and hazards.