Updated: Brookfield High School Stages Lockdown Drill Wednesday

Brookfield High School (BHS) held a lockdown drill Wednesday morning, testing emergency procedures and ensuring both students and faculty are familiar and comfortable with the plans.

High school principal Joseph Palumbo posted a message on the school’s website and sent out an e-news alert to parents at 10 a.m. Wednesday before getting on the loudspeaker and announcing that the school was commencing a lockdown drill.

Staff have been reviewing the lockdown procedures with students over the last several weeks, Palumbo said after the drill, however the date and time of the drill was kept close until it began.

“We’ve been having conversations with the kids — going over the language used in a lockdown and what they should do — so that this was not an unfamiliar event for them,” he said, adding that he made it clear in his announcement that Wednesday’s event was a drill and “the students were not in any danger.”

Palumbo said a Google document has been created for teachers to give feedback, but the school administration is also interested in hearing from the students.

“Sometimes kids have a different perspective and any creative thinking they have, we encourage them to share that,” which they will have an opportunity to do Thursday.

Brookfield Emergency Management Director Wayne Gravius and Youth Officer Gary Gramling participated in Wednesday’s drill, which lasted about 25 minutes.

"I thought it went well," Gramling said Wednesday afternoon, though he declined to go into detail on security procedures.

During the School Security Adivsory Council meeting Tuesday, school officials said they will hold at least two more drills this school year and plan to do three or four per year in the future.

While annual drills have been conducted at BHS in the past, beginning this year, regular drills will now be performed at all four district schools, Gramling said.