First Responders and Staff Train for School Safety at Maysville Schools

ZANESVILLE, OH – Summer vacation may be in full swing, but school safety doesn’t take a break.

On May 27th, the halls of Maysville High School were the site of a life-saving training. The Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office, Zanesville Police Department, South Zanesville Police Department, the Ohio State Highway Patrol and area EMS and fire departments conducted a large-scale active shooter response drill. The school was empty of students, but teachers and staff were on site and participating in the training to better prepare for real-life emergencies.

“The way it helps us prepare for emergencies is it gives a lot of the staff who haven’t experienced something like this a chance to have an idea of what something could possibly look like, on a small scale. It’s also a chance for them to think outside the box in their daily routine as an educator. To think ‘What could I do in this situation?’ or how they could help better things, and what we can do to improve on for safety,” Nic Grewell the director of safety for Maysville Local Schools said.

First responders worked through simulated active shooter scenarios in real time, focusing on interagency teamwork, communication, and split-second decision making. For school staff, the exercise provided valuable insight into emergency protocols and reinforced their roles in keeping students safe. Captain Matt McCauley with the Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office explained what the drill included.

“They’re going to have to encounter an active shooter on one of the floors. So, the officer is going to hear the shots ring out. Then within the building where he’s working, he’s going to have to encounter that and relay it to all the other officers so we can get word out and get a mass response. He’s going to go and encounter the threat, deal with that, and then obviously the fire department’s going to come in and EMS is going to come in and care for the injured,” Captain McCauley said.

Ohio law mandates that full-scale school safety exercises take place at least once every three years to ensure preparedness across all levels of response.