We Prevented the Distress. We Also Prevented the Practice.

Four figures wait on the grass across the street from a school while an alarm sounds and the rest of the students file out the front doors. An adult stands behind a child using a wheelchair. Two other children sit on the ground, one wearing headphones.

Most schools hold a fire drill during the first month of the year. Administrators plan it. They know the date and the time. In theory, nobody else does, because part of the point is to practice what to do when an alarm is unexpected. That is often not how it goes. The administration wants the … Read more