You may have noticed red crosses on the nameplates outside of some teachers’ doors. Contrary to rumors amongst students, these are not indicators of a positive COVID test. In fact, they aren’t related to the pandemic at all. 

Instead, they are a quick and simple way to point out classrooms that carry a red drawstring bag of medical supplies like gauze, tourniquets, bandages, and even a pen and paper for writing down vital information in case of an emergency. 

The project has been in progress since 2018, when Nurse Thomason first joined the Liberty staff. Last year, she was finally able to get bags in classrooms in November. The stickers were only added recently. 

There are 48 in total sprinkled around the school, and they’re all marked by red crosses right outside the rooms that hold them. These are meant to show where such kits may be if needed, but not possessed. The goal is to have such elements readily available in case of what Thomason refers to as a “mass-casualty situation like a school shooting, where you would have to be locked in your classroom, in case someone is injured.” As an extra layer of safety, many teachers that have bags are also trained in CPR and tourniquet.