CCSD learns to ‘ALICE’

Most active shooter situations are over within five minutes, Eric Shawler of the Creston Police Department said during ALICE training Thursday at Creston Community Middle School.

During those “golden five minutes,” law enforcement are often not present so the Creston Community Schools are making sure that all school employees are trained in how to respond to a dangerous situation on school grounds.

ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate.

Shawler said police response to school shootings has come a long way since 1999’s Columbine shooting when two students shot and killed 13 people and wounded more than 20 others. According to the Washington Post, there have been 230 school shootings since Columbine.

Shawler said law enforcement learns from each incident, but unfortunately, the shooters do, too. He cited the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University shooting in 2007 where the gunman was later found to have practiced shooting targets on the ground at a gun range. Authorities believe this was to simulate students hiding under desks.

Law enforcement now recommends a proactive response to dangerous situations. Due to safety concerns, the specific plans are confidential.

Training

Creston Community Schools held a district-wide training for its staff this week. Deron Stender, CCSD superintendent, said all employees are required to attend the training. First year employees take the first module test, second year employees take the second module, and so on.

The training included an interactive presentation by Shawler and Bolinger, which discussed the need for training and some of the history of school shootings.

Shawler and Bolinger demonstrated how to interrupt a shooter’s concentration with videos asking participants to count dots flashing on the screen with increasing amounts of distracting noises and visual stimulation.

After the presentation, the staff was divided into groups and sent to classrooms for a simulation of an active shooter situation. Shawler and school resource officer Mitch Pashek attempted to enter the rooms armed with airsoft pistols.

For each scenario, the staff was allowed to use greater amounts of resistance. At first, they were only allowed to hide. In later drills, staff was allowed to barricade the door and then evacuate.

The first scenario resulted in 13 “shooting” victims. Once staff was allowed resist, the number of victims dropped to zero.

Shawler commented that in a real situation, where the shooters are not constrained from breaking windows and might begin shooting indiscriminately if frustrated by blocked doors, these numbers might be higher.

Creston substitute teacher Rick Leonard said the training was similar to some of his military training. He went on to say that it was much more comprehensive than training he has attended at other schools, where they only provided classroom training.