Brockton Public Schools will put more than 1,000 blue buckets filled with a variety of tools in each classroom next week as part of an effort to better protect students and teachers from active shooters and other safety threats.
Mike Thomas, the deputy superintendent of Brockton Public Schools, started working as an educator nearly 30 years ago and says he never used to think about an active shooter situation, or any other kind of emergency that requires a school lockdown.
He and other school leaders hope these safety measures might one day help save someone's life.
The buckets, which were purchased wholesale from Lowe’s, include four items: a hammer, a wooden doorstop, a roll of duct tape and rope.
School officials said the hammer can be used to either break a window or bang the wooden wedge under the door. They said the doorstop helps keep the door locked. They said the duct tape can be used to seal a door to prevent smoke from entering the classroom. The rope, they said, can be used to tie together furniture used to block a door.
“I hope we never have to use these,” said Superintendent Kathleen Smith. “We’re going to provide every possible resource that we can to make sure our students are safe.”
Smith said the idea for the buckets came after a meeting with students and parents after the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida earlier this year.
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The buckets are just one of the ways the district's stepping up security. They're also planning to roll out magnetic door strips that lock a door from the inside in just seconds.
The buckets will be in each classroom at the district’s two dozen schools when class starts on Wednesday.
