Some schools and police are teaching students to attack armed gunmen. But are they soft-pedaling the program and misleading parents in the process? A.L.I.C.E. stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. The “counter” component of teaching school students to throw objects at armed intruders and to physically attack them is being question by many experienced educators […]
Category Archive: School Safety and Crisis Training
Taking the “bull” out of bullying and school safety training
School boards and administrators do not need new programs and expenses to manage bullying. In fact, most school districts already have strategies and services in place to adequately address school bullying. Recently, I had the pleasure of sharing this message to about 100 school board members, superintendents and top school district administrators who registered for […]
School security under microscope after 10-year-old runs away
Parents and the media are questioning a Georgia elementary school’s security and supervision procedures after a 10-year-old fifth-grade student ran away from his elementary school on Tuesday. The student, Kit Colburn, was sent to the office around 8:45 a.m. but not reported missing to police until 12:19 p.m., according to a story by The Telegraph newspaper […]
Police use school to train for active school shooting incident
Active shooters have captured more of the public’s attention in K-12 schools, colleges and universities, and other public sites. While I have always emphasized not being alarmist and keeping context when discussing school shootings, it is prudent to include active shooter scenarios in training for law enforcement officials and their school partners. In Shepherdsville, Kentucky, […]
Cafeteria worker saved lives at Chardon High School shooting
Cherie Reed, a cafeteria staff member at Chardon High School, comforted students and may have saved lives thanks to her quick thinking and action as shooter T.J. Lane fired gunshots, killing three students and wounding two others in the school’s cafeteria on Feb. 27 in Chardon, Ohio. Reed and student Travis Carter, a 16-year-old junior, […]
Beware of school safety analysts’ double-talk, mixed messages
School shootings are down, they are nothing new and they are not that common. But please fund my research proposal on school shootings, pay me thousands of dollars to teach you my model for assessing threats of shootings and hire my fellow consultant for a few thousand bucks to show you how many dozen guns he can conceal […]
Chardon High School shooting analysis reveals safety challenges, what works
Social media, reporting threats, drills, how schools can find out in advance about threats, and where we fall short in school safety were topics I discussed during an in-studio interview at the Cleveland ABC-affiliate on the evening of the nearby Chardon High School shooting. Are your schools prepared to prevent and manage a school shooting? Ken Trump Visit School Security […]
Simultaneous active shooter drills test school, police preparedness
Many school crisis plans are on paper and sitting on shelves. Some schools and police conduct tabletop exercises to take plans closer to reality. Last Friday, schools and police in the Greater Cleveland area put their plans to the full blown test in simultaneous active shooter drills in multiple suburban communities. The Brecksville-Broadview Heights School District, Brecksville and […]