During Shalhevet’s first earthquake drill since at least 2019, students and faculty stopped everything they were doing and dropped to the floor, taking shelter under desks.
They did this in response to a loudspeaker announcement sent at 10:30 am, on Wednesday, Oct. 30. The drill lasted one minute, and was part of a larger national earthquake drill.
According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, California has the most earthquakes out of any state in the contiguous United States. California Education Code 35297 requires earthquake drills once per semester in high schools.
“We’re really making a concerted effort this year to have more safety drills,” Principal Daniel Weslow said, “and just making sure that we’re more aware of everything…students safety is always priority number one.”
Faculty and students are completing some aspects of drills, such as clearing the building, well. But one area that needs improvement, Mr. Weslow said, is getting students to assemble by grade in designated areas in the parking lot.
“We’re going to do another earthquake drill early second semester,” he said, “and there will be more fire drills to come.”
On Dec. 16, Shalhevet had its second fire drill this year. Last year students participated in at least two.
This year, faculty felt that it would be beneficial to have an earthquake drill as part of a bigger safety improvement initiative at school.
“I have a lot of training and experiences, and it’s something that I used to do in my old school,” Rabbi Eli Broner, Ninth Grade Dean and Judaic Studies teacher said. “Shali [Shalhevet] has tapped into that resource within me, and I’m helping upgrade the things…we had policies and procedures in place, and I’m helping tighten them up and take them to their next level.”
Rabbi Broner previously worked at Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy where he was the Director of Safety and Security, as well as being a teacher.
A 2022 Boiling Point editorial reported that the school had not had an earthquake drill since at least before the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, possibly longer, because according to BP archives there are no reported earthquake drills from 2012 to 2024.
Mr. Weslow was unsure when the last earthquake drill had been.
“It’s been, I think, a few years,” he said. “I don’t know the exact date.”
“Part of the reason why we have delayed a little bit is that we talk about it in safety presentations and all of that,” Mr. Weslow said. “I think at the high school level, it’s pretty standard that you know to stop drop and roll.”
This November, Shalhevet hosted C-T Watch Inc. of Beverly Hills – the same private counter-terrorism, security, and intelligence company that had visited Shalhevet two years ago – to conduct a two-hour safety training assembly.
The company ran a program training students on general safety in school, including practicing awareness in public settings and knowing what to do in the event of an active shooter situation.
They also taught students how to use a tourniquet and led a walk-through of the building, pointing out emergency exits.
Mr. Weslow said that this year, Shalhevet was focusing on changing their policies to improve student awareness during certain situations that students may not otherwise be prepared for.
“At the core of all of that is student safety and making sure that all the hours that you spend here, whether you are here until 10:30 for open house or 7:10 for Hashkama, that you’re safe,” Mr. Weslow said. “That’s the number one priority.”
