Shelter in Place: Protocols & Drills
Modern lockdown and shelter response for schools, parishes, and workplaces.
What you'll learn
What 'lockdown' actually means in 2026 - and why old playbooks fail. Updated for current threat patterns including active assailant, hostile vehicle, civil unrest, and weather-related shelter events. Includes ready-to-run drill scripts, parent-communication templates, and post-incident debrief frameworks.
Course outline
Lockdown vs. shelter-in-place vs. evacuate
The three responses, when each applies, and the most common error: defaulting to one when another is correct.
Who decides - and how fast
Decision authority in a crisis. The 'first 90 seconds' problem and how to design protocols that don't require a committee meeting to act.
The communication tree
How to reach 700 students, 120 staff, 1,400 parents, the diocese, and the police - simultaneously, without the system collapsing.
Classroom-level procedures
What teachers actually do, said in 8 words or fewer. Door procedures, position, voice, distraction tactics, kid-management.
Non-classroom spaces - chapel, gym, cafeteria, hallways
Half your population is somewhere other than a classroom most of the day. The protocol gaps everyone overlooks.
Drill scripts (3 ready-to-run)
Three full drill scripts: a basic-level practice drill, a surprise-element drill, and a multi-event scenario drill. Includes facilitator notes.
Scenario: active assailant in the gym
Scenario walkthrough. You decide every move. The system grades each decision against current best practices.
Scenario: credible bomb-threat call
What to do when the call comes in. Evacuate or shelter? When to engage PD. Documentation requirements.
Post-incident: debrief, mental-health, documentation
The hours after the all-clear. Debrief framework. Mental-health resources for staff and students. Documentation requirements.
Completion: knowledge check + certificate
10-question knowledge check. Pass to receive your OSPG Shelter-in-Place certificate.