Making School Safety Drills Less Scary: How Feel Your Best Self Strategies Can Help
Dr. Sandy Chafouleas, FYBS Co-Creator & Molly Ferreira, FYBS Implementation Coordinator
It’s a typical Thursday afternoon—students have settled in after recess, and you’ve just gotten back into the rhythm of the afternoon schedule. Then, suddenly, the words “This is a lockdown” come through the intercom. First thought: Ugh, I was just getting into a flow again. Second thought: Where’s my drill directions list? Shades shut? Door locked? What else?
As former school practitioners (Sandy as a school psychologist, Molly as a 3rd grade teacher), we have each experienced this scenario on more occasions than we could possibly count. As educators, it’s natural to have these quick, practical reactions—and to feel a little disruption. But while we understand it’s just a drill, our students may be experiencing something very different.
Over the years, we’ve witnessed countless students struggle during school safety drills. Some students may cry, some may shut down completely, and some can carry those worries long after the drill ends. What can be routine to adults can be overwhelming for students: the loud sounds, the urgency, the disruption to their safe classroom environment. Especially for students who may not fully understand what’s happening or why, participating in school safety drills can bring those stormy clouds rolling in with scared, worried, and even frustrated feelings.
Safety drills are essential for keeping our students safe, however, we also need to help children navigate the emotional challenges that these drills can bring forth. This is where the Feel Your Best Self (FYBS) strategies and educator toolkit can become useful.
The Power of Preparation: FYBS Strategy Cards in Your “Go-Bag”
Every teacher's emergency “go-bag” should include the staples like attendance sheets and first aid supplies. But it also should have tools for emotional first aid, and the FYBS strategy cards are great for this purpose. These portable, visual reminders of emotion-coping strategies can be the difference between a student who feels empowered during a drill and one who feels overwhelmed.
Having these cards readily available in the classroom—including your “go-bag”—means that you can use them proactively and responsively. Before a drill begins, during the drill itself, or immediately after, to prompt student emotion regulation and get back to learning. Doing so can make the strategies become as automatic as lining up quietly or walking to the designated area.
Calm Your Self: The Perfect Drill Companion
Among all the FYBS strategies, the Calm Your Self category is particularly well-suited for use in school safety drills. These strategies are designed to be quick, quiet, and effective in self-soothing, exactly what you might need while practicing the crisis protocols in a school safety drill. Here’s a quick review:
Ground It Down: This strategy is a great option for safety drills because it can be done anywhere, anytime, and helps children immediately connect with the sensations in their body. The tense and release actions can be done while sitting or standing, prompting students to focus inward rather than getting overwhelmed by what’s happening around them. During a drill, quietly prompt students to stay still and notice what they feel. Guide them through the steps by asking, “What parts of your body can you feel pushing into the ground?” (hands, feet, legs). Then ask them to identify different body parts and squeeze them, asking “Can you hold the squeeze and count to 5?”. Then release that squeeze together and model a big sigh of relief. This type of grounding technique can help them stay present and calm.
Belly Breathing: Perhaps the most versatile of the FYBS strategies, belly breathing can be done standing in line, sitting during a lockdown, or even walking to an evacuation area. Teach students to place one hand on their belly, breathing slowly in with a count to 5, hold, and then release through another count to 5. The physical focus in belly breathing can help override the fight-or-flight response that drills can trigger.
Chillax in My Head: This strategy helps students create a calm, safe space in their minds to access even in stressful situations. Students are prompted to visualize their favorite peaceful place, maybe their bedroom, a park, or their grandma’s kitchen. Encourage them to mentally "go there" during the drill, providing a calming place when external circumstances feel overwhelming. The beauty of this strategy is its complete portability and silence, making it ideal during open moments during any type of safety drill.
Shake Out the Yuck: Physical movement can be a powerful tool for releasing tension and anxiety. Although full-body movement might not be appropriate during certain drills, subtle versions of shaking out the yucks can be incredibly effective. For example, students can quietly shake their hands at their sides, roll their shoulders, or gently shake their feet while walking. These movements can help discharge nervous energy that can build up during stressful situations like school safety drills.
Practical Implementation Strategies
Before the Drill: Use the FYBS strategy cards to practice calming techniques during regular classroom routines. Make putting them in place playful, such as "Let's see who can do the quietest Belly Breathing" or "Let's practice our Ground It Down voices." When students are familiar with how to use these strategies during calm moments, they're more likely to remember them during stressful ones. In addition, the FYBS strategy songs can be particularly powerful preparation tools. Music has an incredible power to soothe anxiety, so teach students simple, quiet songs that they can hum or sing softly to themselves during drills. The familiar melody becomes an anchor in stressful situation like school safety drills.
During the Drill: Have your FYBS strategy cards easily accessible in your “go-bag.” As you move through the drill, you can quickly show a card to those students who need additional support or quietly remind the whole group: "Remember our Belly Breathing" or "Let's Ground It Down together." For students who need physical release, subtle "Shake Out the Yuck" movements can help discharge nervous energy without disrupting the drill procedures.
After the Drill: Use this as a teachable moment. Gather students and ask, "Which strategy helped you feel calmer during our drill?" Review the cards to discuss what worked well and practice the steps in those strategies that they identify might help next time. This debriefing helps students process the experience and builds their readiness to successfully navigate future drills.
Building Emotional Safety Alongside Physical Safety
When we think about school safety, it is tempting to focus solely on the physical aspects as there is so much to manage—evacuation routes, secure doors, emergency procedures. But emotional safety is equally important in ensuring that all students can participate fully and effectively.
The FYBS strategies can help us acknowledge that it's normal to feel scared or worried during drills while giving students concrete tools to manage those feelings. The key to successfully integrating FYBS strategies into safety drills is building familiarity in low-stress situations, through consistent practice, so that they become resources to easily lean into during high-stress moments like school safety drills.
These strategies shouldn't be introduced for the first time during an actual drill. Weave them into daily classroom routines, like practicing Belly Breathing before tough assignments, using Ground It Down while lining up to head to lunch, or incorporating the catchy FYBS songs into your transitions.
Remember, the goal isn't to eliminate all anxiety from safety drills—some level of seriousness is appropriate and necessary. Our aim in using the FYBS strategies is to offer credible, fun tools that help students develop the emotional skills they need to stay calm, follow directions, and feel secure even in uncertain situations.