Lascassas Elementary conducts school drill

Teachers locked their children in classrooms when educational assistant Joanna Jones called a “Code Yellow” during a school safety drill Tuesday at Lascassas Elementary School.

Principal Randall Uptain and Assistant Principal Tina Maxwell and educational assistant Joanna Jones quickly checked to make sure doors were secured while bookkeeper Coreana Ward watched for visitors during the drill.

School Resource Officer Chad Dodson monitored the response. He explained a “Code Yellow” caution allows students and teachers to remain in the classroom and lock the doors.

“They did a great job,” Dodson said of the response by administrators, teachers and students.

During an earlier interview, SRO Sgt. Scott Culp said the SROs conducted safety drills this week in the Rutherford County Schools’ system. SROs work with the administrators, teachers and nurses to test the response.

“The point of the drills is to see problems and address those,” Culp said of the drills. “Our ultimate goal is not to be a victim and to respond accordingly.”

SRO Kyle Grisham said drills allow the administrators and teacher to work through various scenarios at schools.

Some SROS train on safety out-of-state at the federal level and train remaining SROS to respond in the suggested federal level.

“This is something the SRO Division takes seriously,” Grisham said.