Safety at Lisle High School

According to the K-12 School Shooting Database, there have been 194 active shooter situations since 1970. While most of us never imagine something like this happening to our community, is Lisle prepared for the possibility? 

 Every parent’s worst fear is losing their child, especially when their children are in a place where they are meant to be safe. Everytown research reports since the start of 2023 there have been at least 30 incidents of gunfire on school grounds all over the United States.

All schools in the country have to conduct at least one “lockdown” drill in order to prepare for the possibility of an active shooter. Lisle is no exception. In an interview conducted with Lisle High School’s Dean, Jim O’Hara, and student resource officer Justin Louis they talk about safety in Lisle High School. 

On the administrative end, Mr. O’Hara has everything in check when it comes to a lockdown, “We are mandated by the region’s health education to have at least 1 lockdown drill with police presence and so we do a couple of those just because it’s beneficial to have more than just one.”  

Lisle High School uses a system called Crisis Go which is a system that all staff has on their laptops and phones; it can be activated whenever there’s a threat in and out of the school.

As the high school resource officer, Officer Louis’s primary role is the security of the building and the safety of the students and faculty. When lockdowns occur Officer Louis already has a plan, whether it’s a drill or the real deal, “I’m out, I’m out making sure that you guys are all locked down, that everyone is safe and protected from the threat.”

Louis explained that in the event of a threat the benefit of having the police station so close to us is “since they have it on their phone they can put us on lockdown.” The response time of the police is almost record-breaking since the station is only 0.3 miles away from the school. 

The police station trains in active intruder scenarios over the summer in the high school in addition to several other drills held throughout the year to get to know and understand the building according to Louis. 

As an added security measure, students are required to scan their identification cards in the morning as they enter the building. This safety precaution was put in place during the 2021-2022 school year, and it allows the administration to know who is coming in and out of the building. 

The overall safety and security measures at Lisle are exceptional. With the practice, patience, and participation of the students and staff, everyone in the building will have the knowledge of how to be ready for the unknown.