Chronicle Editorial

By: 
Chronicle Staff

ALICE training a step in the right direction for student safety

 

     With a crack of a handgun and the boom of a rifle, last week's teacher in-service at Hampton-Dumont was transformed into anything but your run-of-the-mill staff development session. Local law enforcement officials walked the halls in three district buildings firing off weapons so staff members could hear gunshots inside school walls. The exercise, which was part of H-D's Alert Lockdown Inform Counter Evacuate (ALICE) training, was intended to familiarize teachers with gunfire so they can recognize the noise if a shooter attacks their building.

     It's hard to grasp the very real possibility that such a horrendous tragedy could occur in Iowa, let alone Franklin County. We like to think these sorts of things only happen in faraway parts of the country nowhere near our corner of the world – the people here are friendly, everyone looks out for each other and our schools are safe. After all, nothing tragic has ever happened here before.

     However, we can't hold on to those fundamental truths like we used to. News of mass shootings scream from national headlines now more than ever, and it doesn't appear these tragedies are bound to stop anytime soon. This is where training like last week's ALICE exercise becomes so vital. We can't predict tragic events like the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre or the Columbine shootings, but we can certainly train and prepare our educators for the worst-case scenario.

     School safety has evolved almost exponentially throughout the years. No longer can you simply enter a school building and roam the hallways at your leisure. You need to be let in by office staff, check in electronically and verify the reason you're visiting. Numerous surveillance cameras also strengthen security measures at our local schools by keeping a keen eye on hallways and entrances.

     But these things only go so far. Should they fail, H-D teachers will be able to fall back on their ALICE training and apply numerous preventative measures to protect our children and keep them out of harm's way. Simple things like barricading doors or breaking a window so students can evacuate are all new crisis intervention tactics taught through ALICE. They might seem simple, but they could go along way in saving innocent lives should the unthinkable happen. Gone are the days where teachers locked their doors, shut off the lights and prayed law enforcement showed up to put an end to a shooting.

     Last week's gunfire exercise was a worthwhile drill aimed at mitigating tragedy in the future. The administration at Hampton-Dumont should be applauded for their efforts at training staff members for the worst-case scenario, and it probably wasn't an easy decision allowing guns into school. However, there were no students in the building, and it helped familiarize faculty the sound of gunfire. It might have been a surreal exercise and somewhat difficult to comprehend, but it was a much-needed training session that should be duplicated at other schools throughout the area.

     These new safety methods are a welcomed addition to H-D emergency procedure and help make our local school buildings more secure for students We never want to see our schools actually have to utilize their ALICE training, but they still need to do it. After all, you can never be too careful.

Hampton Chronicle

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Hampton, IA 50441
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