During the meeting, Steele said Westmore Elementary’s assistant principal spoke about the need for safety kits and updated the PTA on new safety protocols being implemented at the school.

The kits include portable toilets, snacks, water bottles and other various items that may be needed in a classroom to help teachers maintain order and comfort in the event of a lockdown or secure protocol situation. 

Little did Steele know that just a short time later, after the meeting, such an emergency would occur. Kirk was struck by a single gunshot while speaking with students during an event on UVU’s campus around 12:15 p.m., according to the Utah Department of Public Safety.

About 15 minutes later, Alpine School District officials said five schools across the Orem and Vineyard areas were placed into a “secure status” for the remainder of the afternoon.

Westmore Elementary, located just blocks away from UVU, was one of those schools.

“It was just really crazy timing,” Steele said.

During a secure protocol, all students, faculty and staff are brought inside and all exterior doors are locked.

Alyson Madsen, the school’s community outreach coordinator, said last Wednesday’s instance was slightly different from a full lockdown.

“The kids were able to be escorted to the restroom,” she said. “But if we were in the event of an actual lockdown, they wouldn’t have been able to really leave their classroom.”

Aside from any bathroom visits, students were summoned to their classroom for more than three hours before being released to their parents or guardians at the normal 3:30 p.m. dismissal time.

While conversations about amassing enough safety kits for all 29 classrooms at Westmore Elementary had been underway for months, according to Steele, she said the nearby shooting makes the need much more urgent.

“In the event of a full lockdown, there would be total silence in the classroom. They would have to keep it dark — everybody hiding in a corner. It would be a very stressful situation for the teachers and the kids,” she explained.

Though the threat to nearby schools was uncertain following Kirk’s shooting, as it would likely be the case in any similar incident, Steele said the PTA hopes to lessen the distress teachers and students may endure during such a tense situation, saying it would like “any comfort item” it can find.

The PTA’s plea for safety kits at Westmore Elementary is just one aspect of the school’s commitment to safety, according to Madsen.

As the Daily Herald previously reported, the Alpine School District recently partnered with Intermountain Health to provide bleeding control and CPR training to teachers and staff members.

The effort arms educators with the proper skillset to perform life-saving techniques during a trauma response scenario.

Madsen said the school’s safety team is working to obtain emergency-related supplies should teachers have to use the techniques they’ve learned.

Ultimately, Madsen said the efforts of the PTA and Westmore Elementary’s safety team align with one another.

“This is one of those things that the PTA has taken on that they think the restroom part of the situation is priority, whereas our safety team is more looking at more of a physical injury, that type of first aid situation,” she said.

Steele said while the school’s PTA hopes something like the recent shooting at UVU never happens again, they want to be prepared in case it does.

The PTA has started a givebacks fundraising campaign to gather donations to purchase safety kits for all 29 classrooms at Westmore Elementary. People can also buy the portable bathrooms themselves and have them delivered to the school.

Steele said the goal is to supply at least 22 classrooms with the safety kits within the next month. From there, the PTA will work toward gathering enough donations to put the kits in the remaining rooms.

As Westmore Elementary celebrates its 75th anniversary this week, Steele praises parents and community members who have already stepped up to help.

“Ever since the issue has come up, we’ve had a ton of parents and just community members reaching out, trying to find out how they can help,” she told the Daily Herald. “It’s just been really awesome to see how much support our school has been able to gain.”

Individuals who are interested in making a contribution can visit westmore.givebacks.com.