The monthly drills continue as Clark students, teachers & staff practice safety protocols in case of emergency. October 20th was the decided day worldwide to practice the Great ShakeOut. According to Shakeout.Org statistics, there were approximately 9.6 million participants in this drill just in the state of California and nearly 40 million participants worldwide.

Students typically have fun during these drills because they get to leave class and spend time with their friends, but it’s also important to be alert and understand what would be done in case of an actual emergency. 

The Great Shakeout was announced by Dr. Landisi at approximately 11:30am. The entire campus, after completing a Drop, Cover & Hold protocol proceeded with their assigned routes down New York Avenue to the field where they began lining up and taking attendance. “It took us about ten minutes to evacuate everyone to the field, then another five minutes to check everyone in,” said Clark’s principal, Dr. Landisi. 

For many freshmen on campus, this was the first field evacuation. There are various evacuation protocols depending on the emergency taking place. Clark teachers wore their bright yellow vests and held up their classroom signs to help students find them quickly. 

“The hope is that we will never actually have to evacuate for a legitimate emergency, but it’s so critical to be prepared and know what to do,” said Mrs.Tatevosian. “Oftentimes students joke that they’d just run away if an emergency took place, but hopefully they’d follow what we do during a drill because it is specifically designed to keep everyone safe.” 

All these precautions come together to prevent future incidents and keep everyone safe. “The most important thing is getting people out of the building and away from danger,” said Dr. Landisi. Students were excited to get the “ALL CLEAR” message from Dr. Landisi. Everyone got five extra minutes of lunchtime because the drill went smoothly and as planned.