That is the mantra of a lockdown situation.

Warren County School District is practicing intruder situations and locking down schools this week and next week.

On Wednesday, it was Sheffield’s turn.

District Safety and Security Coordinator Brandon Deppen, the district’s law enforcement partners, and a bad guy, visited Sheffield Area Middle High School and Sheffield Area Elementary School to see how well they were prepared.

Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry Warren County Sheriff’s Deputy and Warren County School District School Resource Officer Jon Uplinger talks over a barricade to staff and students in a Sheffield Area Middle High School classroom following a lockdown drill.

At about 9 a.m., the bad guy entered the building through a back door. The door was locked — one point for preparation. Deppen let him in with a key.

The bad guy then started walking around, testing door handles. He was not carrying a weapon of any kind.

The doors were all locked — another point.

Shortly after he saw a student in the hall — she knew something was up and Deppen said, ‘you should be doing something’ — an announcement came over the public address system that there was an intruder in the science hall.

Monitors in the office said they had more than they bargained for in keeping an eye on the intruder because there were about 10 adult strangers in the halls throughout the building — the law enforcement partners were observing to see if teachers and students responded appropriately.

The intruder was leaving the science hall when the announcement was made, so teachers near his next destination were caught a little off-guard.

One teacher was doing a sweep — checking the hall to make sure there were no students caught outside the locked doors — when the bad guy walked into view. The teacher saw a young man in a mask who was not carrying any kind of weapon and thought he must be a student. He invited him into his classroom as he finished pulling the shade.

It was a mistake, but one made in the interest of safety, Deppen said. The teacher was doing what he was supposed to do. Without the mask, the intruder may have stood out as someone that does not belong in the school. With a weapon in his hand, he would have certainly represented a threat.

The rest of the drill went well.

After the intruder checked the classroom doors — finding them all locked — he went to the door that separates the middle-high school from the elementary school. That door was locked and the drill was effectively over.

Deppen, law enforcement agents from the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, including both of the district’s school resource officers, City of Warren Police, and Warren County Public Safety, as well as district Transportation Manager Mike Kiehl went to each classroom, unlocked the door and checked preparations.

The lights were out and students and staff were out of sight. The found meaningful barricades — tables, desks, and chair — in each occupied room.

The officers had been given keys that would unlock each room. Staff and students are taught not to open the door for anyone. The drill or incident ends when someone with a key unlocks their door.

When agents opened the door, they asked if students were ready to counter — essentially attack the intruder if he made it into the room — and if they would have evacuated. Part of the district’s plan for a threat response includes encouraging students to self-evacuate if they can do so safely. Evacuation was not permitted on Tuesday due to social distancing concerns and to give every student practice in barricades and remaining out of sight.

The officers took notes and gave their feedback to the principals.

Students and staff in classrooms in the science hall and nearby generally reported that they would have stayed put. Many others said they would have evacuated — particularly those in rooms that had exit doors to the outside.

Deppen got together with law enforcement and the two building principals, Glenn Smith and Jessica Fortner, for an after-action brief.

“We saw one student in the hallway and one teacher was doing a sweep,” Deppen, who stayed with the intruder, said. “We could hear people moving quickly. They were barricading.”

“All the teachers did sweeps,” City of Warren Police Chief Joe Sproveri, who observed the response from a position away from the intruder, said. “Really impressive today. The barricades were there. Everything looked good.”

“They were quite barricaded and had counter-measures,” City of Warren Police Capt. Jeff Dougherty said.

The district is mandated to conduct monthly fire drills throughout the school year. Two of those — one each in the spring and fall — must be some kind of security drill.

“Practice makes us better,” Deppen said. “We’ve been teaching our children since pre-school how to react to a fire. They know it. We’re just training them for today’s threats.”

The practice is paying off. Students do not panic and they know what they are supposed to be doing when they hear there is an intruder in the building.

“They did very well,” Deppen said. “The kids and staff have been following their training. As soon as they heard the announcement, they were moving.”

“The kids know what to do,” Fortner said. “It’s a knee-jerk response.”

Drills were held at the Youngsville schools on Monday.

There will be a drill at the Eisenhower campus on Thursday.

Next week, there will be drills at Warren Area High School and Warren Area Elementary Center on Monday, Warren County Career Center on Tuesday, Beaty-Warren Middle School on Wednesday, and the Central Office on Thursday.

Students and staff are told that drills will be held at their building on a particular day, but the time is not revealed.