Recently across the United States of America, safety in schools has become a topic of concern. Amidst the school shooting in Florida, the recent threat to shoot Kapolei Middle School, and the stabbing of a James Campbell High School (JCHS) student, safety has become a large concern of students, teachers, and parents at JCHS.

JCHS security has been taught to protect the lives of each student on campus at all costs. While there is no protocol to stop a shooter, saving lives is the primary mission. Nowell Wilcox, a security guard on campus, said, “There are no strategies, only to preserve life.” The security’s main focus isn’t to stop the threat itself, but to ensure the students on campus are protected from it.

In the event where there is a shooter on campus, security has be instructed to find any students who aren’t in a classroom and get them in one. Wilcox said, “We house any kids in our view in a classroom, and barricade ourselves until emergency response arrives.” This strategy is a lockdown, where students hide silently in locked classrooms until the threat has passed.

Student safety is of paramount importance at James Campbell High School. To ensure everyone remains safe security asks for the full cooperation of students if an emergency occurs. Noelani Haden, another security member on campus stated, ”Listen to security, authority, administration, adults, and do as they say.” Security is trained to help keep students safe, but they can only do so if the students listen and follow instructions.

To keep students safe, security encourages students to know what to do in all cases of emergency including: fires, tsunamis, hurricanes, shootings, bomb threats, etc. Knowing the proper protocols in each situation will ensure the response efficiency in case of emergency. If you are unsure ask security or teachers what to do if an emergency occurs.