PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — WPTV is continuing our in-depth coverage of school lockdowns in Palm Beach County, one week after a scare at Lake Worth Middle School.
The administration triggered that lockdown using a panic alert button that every staff member now wears.
The lockdown occurred after an employee thought they saw someone trespassing on the campus. The principal later said nothing was found.
This school year, the School District of Palm Beach County rolled out the CENTEGIX CrisisAlert panic alarm button. It looks like an ID card, and the more than 20,000 school district employees all have them.
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"When you have the ability to put the campus in a lockdown, that's a powerful, powerful tool," school district Police Chief Sarah Mooney said.
With that tool comes the background and personal experience of each individual who wears it, which can impact what they perceive as a threat and what they don't.
"You may have some people that would be perceived as overreacting to what they are seeing, and you may have some that are perceived as underreacting. We're looking for that sweet spot in the middle where everybody is kind of on the same page," Mooney said. "But allow the professionals who are on the campuses already that have some extra training in trying to mitigate these things help to make the decision whether to lock something down."
If someone presses the panic alarm button about eight times, it will trigger a full code red lockdown at the school.
A code red is used for the most serious situations when there is an imminent threat on campus. The school is completely locked down and students and staff are in their safe places. That sends a message to the local 911 call center, which initiates a response from other agencies.
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Mooney said at Lake Worth Middle School last week, they weren't able to verify whether it was a true threat or not.
"We are always going to err on the side of caution, and we're gonna assume the threat is valid until we are able to say, 'No, we've mitigated that and/or proved there is no validity to the actual initial allegation,'" Mooney said.
The police chief added that when a lockdown is triggered, they have the ability to mitigate it very quickly.
"If it's a false alarm, or something that's not really going on and it was accidental, we're able to kind of shut it off, which is good," Mooney said. "I would say 99% of the time, if there is any kind of lockdown or lockout is a code yellow, and that's what we would rather see than a code red. Because a code red is significant, and that's one of the things with the panic alarms, if you send that campus into a code red, the kids are trained to go find their safe space, don't move, and lock everything down. We don't want to traumatize them."
At a time when lockdowns appear to be happening more often, Mooney said you have to look at the full picture.
"Do we have more? Maybe. But should we? Only because of the mechanism in place to initiate it, probably yes," Mooney said. "You don't want to cry wolf so to speak, but everybody's got to understand what the gravity is and the difference between the code red and code yellow and minimize the overreactions."
Mooney said there is certainly a learning curve with this system, and there is always room for improvement. Training is conducted throughout the school year and she said they will probably adjust their training into the next school year to make sure everyone realizes the gravity of putting the school into lockdown.
Some teachers feel empowered having the button at their fingertips, while others are nervous about accidentally triggering a lockdown.
"As teachers, none of us came into this profession thinking we were going to be the front line of defense for the students. And unfortunately, that's the world we live in," Palm Beach Central High School teacher Dr. Eric Jourgensen said.
Jourgensen said he has used the button several times to trigger a "staff alert" by pressing it three times. That alert calls for help on campus, but does not involve a lockdown or outside agencies.
"There are times when we see something in the courtyard, and we can't easily get back to our rooms to hit for assistance and deal with the situation simultaneously," Jourgensen said.
Safety is always top of mind for Palm Beach Gardens High School parent Mandy Ratcliff, whose daughter is a junior there. They've dealt with two guns on campus this school year.
"There was no threat, so that was the positive. But it was a loaded weapon," Ratcliff said.
Ratcliff was glad to learn more about the panic alarm button.
"I have a lot of friends who are teachers, and they are scared, and they shouldn't be scared to teach our kids. So that makes me feel better," Ratcliff said.