“Attention, teachers. Please shelter in place. I repeat, shelter in place.”
This phrase plays over the loudspeakers, and immediately, her heart starts to race.
Unsure of what is actually happening, she assumes the worst.
Images of Parkland, Las Vegas, Sutherland Springs, Orlando, and Sandy Hook fill her mind as she wonders if she’ll be in the next batch of victims that receive endless thoughts and prayers.
As her mind spirals, she looks to the teacher for direction.
The teacher, a substitute, looks back at her with just as much fear and just as much confusion.
“There is no official emergency situation training for substitutes,” said Ann Sbardellati, a frequent substitute teacher for Carlmont.
As replacements for teachers unable to attend school, substitutes are given the large responsibility of keeping students safe. However, permanent teachers receive pamphlets with clear directions for what to do in emergencies and go through drills to prepare for the possibility of an emergency happening. Substitutes do not have any of this unless a drill is planned for the day that they are in the classroom.
“We are notified if there is a drill and are given a summary of what to do for that day. On normal days, the school gives you a binder or a packet of administration and department contact information, a school map, and some guidelines on emergencies. I am not sure how many people have read these packets while or before subbing,” Sbardellati said.
Many experienced substitutes believe that they, as well as their peers who are newer to the job, should be more prepared for emergencies.
Aaron Oka, another frequent substitute for Carlmont, said, “There should be some kind of first-aid and emergency training that specifically pertains to schools, which all subs should be provided with. Some substitute teachers, especially the newer ones, are unfamiliar with what to do in certain circumstances. There should be a basic sheet for every school that clearly explains to the substitutes or instructional aids how their door locks are set up and what to do in the event of a school lock down.”
Without properly preparing substitutes for emergencies, the school system is betting and hoping that the day a substitute is there will be like most days — a normal day with no major emergencies. For schools like Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, that was not the case, and substitutes around the nation need to be prepared for situations like these.
Cate Armstrong, a senior, said, “Because mass shootings are popping up so frequently, it is really important to train substitutes on how to respond and keep everyone safe. The main priority in these emergency situations is keeping people safe, and the more adults that are trained in this area, the safer everyone is. Although it's really scary to think about the possibility of something like this happening at Carlmont, it's better to take precautions because you never know what's going to happen. The money and time spent on training is such a little cost compared to the lives that could be saved.”
The Highlander, April 2018
This phrase plays over the loudspeakers, and immediately, her heart starts to race.
Unsure of what is actually happening, she assumes the worst.
Images of Parkland, Las Vegas, Sutherland Springs, Orlando, and Sandy Hook fill her mind as she wonders if she’ll be in the next batch of victims that receive endless thoughts and prayers.
As her mind spirals, she looks to the teacher for direction.
The teacher, a substitute, looks back at her with just as much fear and just as much confusion.
“There is no official emergency situation training for substitutes,” said Ann Sbardellati, a frequent substitute teacher for Carlmont.
As replacements for teachers unable to attend school, substitutes are given the large responsibility of keeping students safe. However, permanent teachers receive pamphlets with clear directions for what to do in emergencies and go through drills to prepare for the possibility of an emergency happening. Substitutes do not have any of this unless a drill is planned for the day that they are in the classroom.
“We are notified if there is a drill and are given a summary of what to do for that day. On normal days, the school gives you a binder or a packet of administration and department contact information, a school map, and some guidelines on emergencies. I am not sure how many people have read these packets while or before subbing,” Sbardellati said.
Many experienced substitutes believe that they, as well as their peers who are newer to the job, should be more prepared for emergencies.
Aaron Oka, another frequent substitute for Carlmont, said, “There should be some kind of first-aid and emergency training that specifically pertains to schools, which all subs should be provided with. Some substitute teachers, especially the newer ones, are unfamiliar with what to do in certain circumstances. There should be a basic sheet for every school that clearly explains to the substitutes or instructional aids how their door locks are set up and what to do in the event of a school lock down.”
Without properly preparing substitutes for emergencies, the school system is betting and hoping that the day a substitute is there will be like most days — a normal day with no major emergencies. For schools like Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, that was not the case, and substitutes around the nation need to be prepared for situations like these.
Cate Armstrong, a senior, said, “Because mass shootings are popping up so frequently, it is really important to train substitutes on how to respond and keep everyone safe. The main priority in these emergency situations is keeping people safe, and the more adults that are trained in this area, the safer everyone is. Although it's really scary to think about the possibility of something like this happening at Carlmont, it's better to take precautions because you never know what's going to happen. The money and time spent on training is such a little cost compared to the lives that could be saved.”
The Highlander, April 2018