Research data appears not to support students fighting gunmen
January, 2014* An academic research report often pointed to by advocates for teaching students and teachers to fight heavily armed gunmen presents data showing that the majority of 21 active shooters in K-12 schools were NOT stopped by citizens subduing the gunman. Data provided from a forthcoming book chapter on active shooters in schools by […]
School safety lessons: A teacher survives an active shooter
Monday’s shooting at Sparks Middle School in Nevada ended with the tragic death of a math teacher and the student/shooter, and the injury of two other students. The teacher, Michael Landberry, a Marine and National Guard member who served multiple tours in Afghanistan, reportedly intervened in an effort to get the shooter to put down […]
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, […]
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 […]
Origin & rejection of ALICE Training: Kids fighting armed gunmen
Most school leaders probably don’t know that the component of ALICE training in which children are taught to attack armed intruders in schools was actually rejected by the school district in which the model originated in 2006. A.L.I.C.E. (Alert-Lockdown-Inform-Counter-Evacuate) Training is a program being advocated in a small but noticeable number of school-communities. Along with others in education and […]
Parent questions: ALICE Training & teaching kids to fight gunmen
Most of us who are parents agree that safety is more important than academics at our schools. We entrust educators with our children for a good chunk of time each school day. We demand that they take reasonable steps to protect our kids, and expect that they use good common sense in doing so. Yet […]
Bringing pencils & books to a gun fight; ALICE Training raises questions
“While he’s busy ducking and covering his head from our air assault, we must now begin the ground assault.” This quote from a staff training booklet on the A.L.I.C.E. (Alert-Lockdown-Inform-Counter-Evacuate) plan struck me when it was shared by a client school district. The quote was included in a section called, “OK, I made him mad. Now What!?” And […]
Bringing a purse to a gun fight: Training to attack armed intruders?
Typically I ignore snark and snipe attacks made against me on the Internet. As a higher-profile figure with over 25 years experience in the school safety field, they come with the territory. And typically they come from people who are jealous and/or insecure anyway. But every now and then one occurs that is just too […]