Active shooter drills are a commonplace reality in schools these days and are practiced like old-fashioned fire drills. Instead of lining up and walking out of the school in an orderly manner, doors are locked, windows are covered, students are moved away from doors and kept quiet.

Before the last Elma School Board meeting, on Aug. 10, Sergeant Robert Wilson, of the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office, gave a presentation on school shootings — the history, indications and characteristics of active shooters, how to help prevent events and what to do if one should take place in an Elma school.

“If you’re not training, practicing, if you’re not rehearsing, if we’re pretending it’s not going to happen, then you won’t be prepared for it when it happens,” Wilson said.

Later in the year, in December the Elma School District, GHCSO, law enforcement agencies and first responders will participate in an active shooter drill. The drill will take place on a weekend with students, staff and first responders volunteering in preparing for such a situation, Kevin Acuff, superintendent of Elma schools, said.

District schools already practice in the event of such an emergency, but this drill will include a reunification practice at a location away from the school campus. After an emergency, parents and students are often reunited on school grounds, Kevin Acuff, superintendent of Elma Schools, said. He said that having a reunification area away from the school has been suggested as a better alternative, which will need to be practiced.

“One of our fundamental issues for creating a great learning environment is to enhance safety,” Acuff said. “It is definitely worth our time and effort to enhance our knowledge and skill at responding to all kinds of emergencies.”