Following last April's tornado, which went across a Red Bank High School ball field and leveled a dugout, monthly tornado drills this semester are taking on a more serious tone.
"The students saw the reality of what a tornado does," said RBHS principal GailChuy. "The first tornado April 27, we took them downstairs and the lights went out. Since April 27, when I say 'Lock down for a tornado,' the students go straight to it. Having been through a tornado once, they are more eager to obey when ordered."
Red Bank High school assistant principal Gary Jones, left, who oversees student safety drills, and school principal Gail Chuy teach students often what to do in the event of a tornado. They carry handheld radios to keep communication flowing in the event of an emergency.She said she watched the weather March 2 and meteorologist reports said the tornado was heading toward RBHS.
"We were very lucky," said Chuy. "We dodged that bullet."
But she's confident her students would have been prepared.
"We talk to kids about what to do in the event of a tornado," said Chuy. "When kids know that you take it seriously and that it's important to you to keep them safe, they listen to you in drills. We just had a tornado drill in February before March 2."
She said the winds were so strong last April that it moved the school's air-conditioning unit off its concrete pad. She said the tornado winds hit the school building during that storm, but the building's age and strong build sustained it.
"I grew up in Chattanooga and we always thought that a tornado could not hit the valley," said Chuy. "On March 2 the tornado was aimed right at us. We were already down in the hall with kids prepared. It must have skirted the mountain and jumped north of us to hit Highway 58."
According to Hamilton County School System Assistant Superintendent Lee McDade, the law requires that Hamilton County schools conduct at least three drills per school year. Schools conduct at least one tornado drill and one lock-down drill in the fall and another tornado drill in February. When bad weather approaches students go into real drill mode.
"We have TVs and weather radios on to watch the weather," said McDade, adding that all schools also tune in with weather radios and monitor weather closely. "I did not call one school March 2 that was not in the hallway in tornado mode. The director of transportation sends a text to all principals' cell phones in the event of a tornado watch. I call principals if tornadoes are nearby."
McDade said students go to safety zones away from windows and doors, usually in hallways. He said students get on their knees facing the wall with their hands over their heads if the tornado is in the immediate area.
"Tornadoes have raised the level of serious in schools during tornado drills," said McDade. "Tornado season is March through May. We hope for a quiet one the rest of the way."