"Staffers should be empowered to take actions:" Appleton-area schools review lock down policies

APPLETON  (AP) — Schools officials in the Appleton area are considering modifying school lock down policies to allow teachers to evacuate students rather than have them hunker down in barricaded classrooms.

A Post-Crescent Media report (http://post.cr/1svF70j ) says the Appleton Area School District has been reviewing its procedures after executives attended a national conference on school safety.

Most schools get locked down if an intruder enters a building. Students and teachers are instructed to lock the classroom door, turn the lights off and take cover. But assistant Superintendent Ben Vogel says the district doesn't want to hamstring teachers by removing evacuation as an option.

Barbara Dorff is an executive director with the Green Bay Area Public School District. She says the conference taught her that it can take police six to seven minutes to arrive, so staffers should be empowered to take actions.