During a 90-minute standoff between Great Bend Police officers and a 33-year-old man at a Great Bend residence on Jan. 7, two nearby schools took security measures. The story in the Great Bend Tribune described these measures as a “lockdown” at Park Elementary School and Great Bend High School. USD 428 Public Information Director Andrea Bauer clarified that the term “lockdown” is no longer used for that level of security.

“Our schools were placed on 'SECURE,' meaning doors were locked, students were kept inside, visitors were kept out, and business inside continued as usual,” Bauer said. “I point this out as we are trying to reduce confusion and save the term ‘Lockdown’ for the most significant threats to our schools. The Standard Response Protocol removes vague terms from use, like ‘lockdown continue to teach,’ or ‘soft lockdown,’ etc. Using the SRP protocol, we now have a way to quickly diagnose the situation and use the term that best fits.”

The SRP can be viewed online at greatbendschools.net/district/srp. It notes that a “lockdown” is only initiated when there is an active threat inside or very close to the building.

Terms defined are:

HOLD - In your classroom or area

SECURE - Get inside, lock outside doors

LOCKDOWN - Lock doors, lights off, out of sight 

EVACUATE - To a location

SHELTER - For situations such as a tornado.