Students and staff of the Jewish Day School of the Lehigh Valley in prekindergarten through eighth grade recently took part in a mock, lockdown safety drill.

South Whitehall Township police participated March 29 in the mock lock-down safety drill at the school.

“We are working closely with South Whitehall Police to create a secure and safe learning environment for our students,” Head of School Amy Golding said.

Golding said the school is fortunate to have a wonderful school resource officer.

The resource officer was made possible for them to have as part of the Pennsylvania Safe School Initiative.

Officer Bob Lembach, a retired Allentown police officer who has 26 years of service, joined the school’s team on Nov. 7, 2016.

“He was assistant director of training for the Allentown Police Academy,” Golding said. “The school is grateful for his time and his dedication.”

Lembach said he was very honored to be working at the Jewish Day School with the cooperation and support of both South Whitehall Township and Allentown police departments.

“Today’s drill is unfortunately a necessity to make sure we are all prepared for anything that comes up,” Lembach told The Press.

Golding said the school has also been mentored and works closely with South Whitehall Township Police Chief John Christman and the entire police department.

“Today’s lockdown drill is a partnered effort of both agencies as we work to train our faculty and students in proper procedures while also having the police team learn our building, meet our staff and become familiar with our crisis plan,” Golding said. “I am proud of our team that is dedicated to ensuring active learning can take place in a secure environment.

“We are always striving to build our school up to a higher level in every arena, whether it be academics, extracurricular or safety.”

Golding said working closely with local police has strengthened their program and she is very grateful.

“Safety and security is on all of our minds,” Golding said.

The school also hosted a panel discussion on “Safety in Challenging Times” for the parents that evening.

Christman also commented on the drill.

The South Whitehall Police Department is committed to working with all of the schools within our jurisdiction, Christman said. “It is important these schools practice drills that may keep them safe in actual emergencies.

“Today’s drill is an example of the Jewish Day School preparing and practicing for a worst-case scenario with the help of the police department and South Whitehall Emergency Management.”

Participating in the mock lockdown drill from South Whitehall Township Emergency Management was Coordinator Jeff Kelly and Fire Marshal John Frantz.

“The Jewish Day School takes the security of their students very seriously, earlier this year they hired retired Allentown Police Sgt. Robert Lembach as their school resource officer,” Christman said.

Christman said because the Jewish Day School is located on the border of the City of Allentown; in the event of an actual emergency at the Jewish Day School, the Allentown Police Department would likely respond as well.