The Riverwalk Roar

Happy Sunday, Pride!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, and hopefully, you and your family were able to spend some time outside enjoying the beautiful weather. For me, my weekend felt a bit like “Frank’s” from the movie Old School:

“Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday. We're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath & Beyond... I don’t know, I don’t know if we’ll have enough time.”

I spent some time working through the ol’ “honey-do” list. That work also helped keep my mind off of March Madness—this year, my brackets were busted by 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Anyway, I wanted to share some important information with all of our families, particularly our K–9th-grade families. This Thursday, we’ll conduct a lockdown drill in both of our buildings (elementary and middle/high school). I want to walk you through what that will look like.

Our school follows the I Love U Guys Foundation's Standard Response Protocol. As part of the drill, we’ll make a PA announcement that sounds like this:

“This is a drill. Lockdown. Locks, Lights, Out of Sight. This is a drill. Lockdown. Locks, Lights, Out of Sight.”

We’ll also send a text message to families alerting you that we’re conducting a drill. A second message will go out once the drill is complete. If you have students in both buildings, you’ll receive a total of four messages (two per building).

During the drill, teachers and staff will secure everyone inside their classrooms, ensure doors are locked (they already stay locked), turn off the lights, and move everyone out of sight. Then, York County Sheriff’s officers and our school administrators will walk the building to assess the effectiveness of the response. After the drill, staff will physically unlock the doors so students and teachers can return to their normal schedule.

Based on the principles of I Love U Guys and other safety protocols such as ALICE, we believe communication during a crisis is critical. It improves our response and empowers our staff to act based on the specific situation. While Thursday’s drill will be a standard lockdown—locks, lights, out of sight—our staff is trained in additional response strategies when appropriate, such as barricading, countering, or evacuating.

I share all of this to reassure you that lockdown protocols have evolved. We no longer view lockdowns as a “sit in the corner and wait” approach. Each situation is unique, and it’s essential that our staff has the tools and training to respond in the most appropriate way.

As always, thank you for your continued support, your trust in us, and for being a part of our Pride.

Have a great week!

In Pride and Purpose,

~Dr. Compton