Changing the response to an active shooter

WORLAND — Three Worland administrators and two local law enforcement officers attended a recent A.L.I.C.E. (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) Training in Riverton and Washakie County School District No. 1 Superintendent David Nicholas said he is excited to get the rest of the staff trained.

Nicholas said he, along with West Side Principal Bruce Miller, Worland High School Assistant Principal Brian Gunderson, school resource officer and Washakie County Deputy Colleen McClain and Worland Police Officer Zach Newton, attended the training.

“They really compel you to think about what you’ve done traditionally. And traditionally what it is, is lock the door, turn the lights out and hide. When you’re done with an A.L.I.C.E. Training you’ll never do that again,” Nicholas said.

He said the A.L.I.C.E. Training is if you can evacuate and not be where the intruder is that is always best. “You have to have good intelligence. You have to have cameras where you can see the intruder and be able to say in a clear voice ‘the intruder is in the science wing and if you’re over in the shop just go’,” he said.

Another aspect of the training is enhanced barricade. A locked door is safer than an unlocked door, but with the A.L.I.C.E. Training they add putting stuff in front of the door and adding to the barricade.

He said then there are counter measures. “You don’t all get under the desk and hope for the compassion of the mentally ill person. We’re not doing that. What you do is you spread out so if the person does breach the door, you use whatever is available to you to distract that intruder. If you have to, swarm them,” Nicholas said.

“There is no fighting techniques taught. It’s simply body weight and protect your life. It’s a teachable piece,” Nicholas said. He said they will be taking the training out to the staff first and then to the parent teacher organization.

Miller said they were put through different simulations during the training. One included what schools usually ask kids to do, sit quietly and hide. “When he comes in, you’re sitting there hiding, the intruder got everyone in the room,” he said, adding that it makes you think about what you’ve been asking kids to do.

“Once you’ve been through one of these it makes you change your thinking on that a little bit,” Miller said.

Miller focused on the acronym for A.L.I.C.E. Training.

A is alert. “You’re just alert, using all your senses to notice what’s going on around you.”

L is lockdown or enhanced lockdown including piling things at the door.

I in inform, which is getting as much information out as possible. Miller said it helps disorient the person walking down the hallway.

C is counter, you throw anything you can find at the intruder, swarm him or try and evacuate.

E is evacuate. Miller said evacuate is the first choice if you can.

He added that something that stood out to him is that 60 percent of the time school shootings are over before law enforcement can arrive. “We do need to teach some techniques for our people to respond,” he said.

“Our goal is pretty ambitious, we’d like everyone trained and comfortable with this piece by Christmas break,” Nicholas said.

He added, “I felt a lot more empowered. I know our kids will, our parents will. I’m a hundred percent confident it’s going to have a sense of empowerment. You really help the students make decisions for themselves, and teachers make decisions for themselves. You don’t have to be a trained warrior to pull this off, just a few simple things will make you safer and we can do that.”

Nicholas said, “You’re not going to just wait and hope. We’re going to be proactive.”

In other security news, Nicholas and Business Manager Jack Stott said the architect firm CTA out of Billings will be visiting facilities this week to examine the buildings for security issues and functionality issues, especially in the entryways.

Stott said CTA designed the Powell entryways and does have one staff member with security certificates on staff.

In addition to entryways they will also be looking at the connectivity of the handicapped doors with the automatic locking system, as well as the doors and windows.

Nicholas said the survey regarding the possibility of allowing staff to carry a concealed firearm has closed. Results of the survey have not been made public at this time.