As the new school year dawned, students and parents received sets of emails dealing with separate, unique problems involving the security of Antioch Community High School. Due to the combined efforts of administration, staff and the Antioch Police Department, at no time were students in danger.

The year began with the discovery of an unknown knife in a locker, a problem quickly handled. The following week, the school entered “safe mode” with all teachers and students in locked class- rooms due to a student-made threat. ACHS then launched various forms of lockdowns on Sept. 1 in response to a manhunt for nearby Fox Lake shooting suspects.

Principal Bradford Hubbard said notice of community emergencies generally comes from the po- lice, citing a phone call he received the morning of the shooting. When getting word of the issue, the staff arranged meetings to send mass updates.

“I typically err on the side of too much communication,” Hubbard said. “As a parent myself, I would hate to find out from my student something they were exposed to or put through that I wasn’t aware of.”

ACHS students expressed appreciation for the updates.

“It’s nice to know what’s going on,” senior Lillian Holmes said. “Sometimes we get too many emails, but it’s good to know what they’re doing about it.”

While keeping students in the loop, administration depends on support from the Antioch Police Department for security and expertise in developing responses. Aside from the emergency planning, ACHS has daily measures to prevent emergencies. Security guard Gary Braun spends part of his time in the building keeping watch by the office, triggering the lock on the front door. As students and adults enter, Braun ensures he pleasantly greets them and, more importantly, that they pose no threat to ACHS.

“Our number one warning is we’ll get a call from the police with a picture and a name,” Braun said, explaining he looks for indicators such as “long hair, coats and [groups of] multiple people.”

According to Braun, these threats rarely occur, with the most recent incident involving non-threat- ening strangers. The upcoming school year also features constantly evolving security measures, including the im- plementation of the Blue Point System, which had its first drill Sept. 9.

Dean of students Wilbur Borrero said the new system isn’t perfect yet, but he believes it’s cut- ting-edge technology. When triggered, it will alert the police department, who will arrive at ACHS with “all guns a-blazing.” Another form of warning comes from those within the building.

“One thing we always ask our students, our teachers is [to] please let us know,” Borrero said. “You’re our eyes and ears.”

Responses to other situations often depend on teachers’ directions to students, which they learn from meetings, handbooks and reference cards. Because of their diligence, Hubbard said he is in- spired by the way faculty has responded.

“They’re unbelievable,” he said. “Our faculty and staff are some of the best I’ve ever worked with. I believe they’re really compassionate about wanting to create a safe environment.”

He emphasized that safety is the first priority, one central to ACHS values.

“We often say that teaching and learning are very important, and, obviously, as a school, they are,” Hubbard said. “But, in my opinion, teaching and learning do not happen without two things. One is a positive relationship with our students, and, more importantly, it doesn’t happen without a safe learning environment.” TT