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Preparing for the unexpected

Marshall Public Schools?staff recently took part in an ALICE active shooter training

Photo by Jenny Kirk Staff at Marshall High School evacuate a classroom and then duck for cover after seeing a mock active shooter during a drill recently that is part of ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) training. The mission at ALICE Training Institute is to help others improve chances ofsurvival.

MARSHALL — The sound of gunfire echoing off the walls at a school is something no one ever wants to imagine hearing. But with school shootings dramatically on the rise, more and more schools are taking precautions and making sure everyone is as prepared as possible if a school intruder incident ever happens.

Recently, Marshall Public Schools personnel took part in ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) active shooter training.

“We’re just trying to empower people to make what they consider the best decision for their safety, given the information they have,” Marshall High School Principal Brian Jones said. “Every situation is different, so you have to be able to think on your feet.”

According to a recent study published in Springer’s “Journal of Child and Family Studies,” researchers found that more people have died or been injured in mass school shooting in the United States in the past 18 years than in the entire 20th century. According to EveryTown, there have been 17 school shootings in 2018 alone and 290 since 2013, shortly after 20 children and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The ALICE training included the entire staff at four of the five district buildings. MATEC staff combined with MHS staff for the training.

“I is the acronym for Inform, so we’re going to have somebody on the phone trying to feed you some real-time information about every 15 seconds or so,” Jones said before the third scenario. “With this drill, you’re going to listen, watch and decide whether it’s safe to evacuate.”

Teacher Toni Beebout-Bladholm asked what she should do since her best plan is to barricade the door, break the windows and have her students escape that way.

“I’m taking my students out the window,” she said. “How do I clarify that?”

Jones said for the drill, she should look out the windows and visualize a person wearing a trenchcoat.

“You’re not going to break a window today,” Jones said. “As you look out the window and see that person, you and your team have to decide. You choices are lockdown or evacuate.”

Jones pointed out that the posters many teachers put up to block out passing visitors may actually hinder line of sight in a case of an intruder.

“I get why you do it, because you don’t want your kids looking out and being distracted, but after I went through training, I felt like it maybe impeded your ability to make the best decision,” he said. “You might need to open up a little corner. If you’re going to barricade, you’re going to barricade the glass anyway. I’d rather peek out the window than open up the door and have to peek out.”

As the staff split up into six different classrooms, the drill began. Period sounds of gunfire blasting from a speaker were piercing to one’s ears. Every so often, the frantic voice of office personnel could be heard trying to deliver relevant information.

“She was panicked as her brain was processing everything,” Jones said. “She was trying to provide information to you as quickly as possible. We also tried to add to the confusion with the smoke. We’re trying to create a chaotic environment.”

As some of the staff remained in the classroom with the doors shut up tightly, others chose to evacuate. One group then began running back to the classroom as they turned the corner and saw the shooter in the hallway. MATEC Assistant Principal Chad Pederson was one of the people who ducked for cover by a bank of lockers. Afterward, the group debriefed and talked about the experience.

“I didn’t get hit, but I was just sitting there and (the shooter) should have gotten me,” Pederson said. “I think this is really good training. It helps you be more aware and you start thinking about things that you typically try not to think about.”

Pederson said the training gave him a better sense of what could happen and what some of the options might be to keep students safe.

“In the back of your mind, you have to consider what you’d do with 25-30 students in the classroom,” he said. “How are you going to lead them?”

Shayna Smith, a special education teacher at MHS, thought the scenario was overwhelming and made you somewhat indecisive as the noise was loud and your heart beat fast in your chest.

“It’s hard making decisive, proper choices,” she said. “So it’s good to have the training. I’m happy we’re doing it.”

In the fourth scenario, staff were asked to try distracting the shooter — Marshall Police Officer Aaron Furth portrayed the active shooter.

“We’re going to allow him to come into your room,” Jones said. “You’re going to counter.”

In one classroom, English Language Teacher Vickie Radloff and student teacher Aric Jensen swarmed Furth after others in the room distracted the shooter.

“A couple of rooms chose not to swarm and that’s fine, but you counter,” Jones said. “In one room, his gun jammed and he didn’t even get a shot off. He was swarmed immediately.”

Furth said if people choose to evacuate, they need to remember that the doorways are the choke points.

“If you’re going to evacuate, you have to stick with your decision,” he said. “You can’t hesitate in that doorway because there could be someone behind you or a whole room with a different mindset.”

Furth also discouraged staying close to the wall or remaining in a straight line.

“I know you want to hug the wall because you’re using it for cover when you’re sneaking around, but a bullet, if it’s shot, can ricochet off the wall and it will travel along that wall,” Furth said. “I’m trying to get off as many shots as possible, so if I’m firing, the bullet will follow that wall and strike you. Another thing I noticed when you evacuated is that you turned and took a straight line. The shooter now has an easier target, so you should zigzag.”

The final message that Officer Furth shared is that anything is fair game when the crisis is real.

“If you’re attacking me, you attack any way possible,” he said. “Head, neck, groin — any of the sensitive parts — because it is a life or death situation.”

After the four exercises were finished, staff gathered in the cafeteria. Jones asked if they felt like the strategies they learned were manageable and it appeared as though the majority said, ‘Yes.’ Jones then inquired if the staff thought they could implement those strategies in their classrooms, and again people seemed to be in favor of it.

“This was meant to be stressful at times because a real situation is going to be very stressful,” Jones said. “Hopefully, you’ve learned some skills you can take with you and apply.”

Jones said he definitely feels better about “where we are today” because all the adults in the building are now trained in empowering and proactive techniques.

“I don’t have all the answers and we’re not going to have them right away, but at least we’re starting to think about safety in a different way than we did previously,” he said. “That in itself helps us to be safer and more prepared. And in emergency situations, you’ve got to take command of your kids, whether it be your Block 1 or your Ramp-Up, those are your kids. You’re in charge of them and you have to make decisions on what’s best for them.”

Curriculum Director Jeremy Williams called the training — held during professional learning time on an early-out Wednesday — very intense.

“As a school, our focus is always on the kids and them being safe,” Williams said. “This is scary and we’ve kind of avoided the topic to some extent. We’ve talked about what we would do. Practice has shown (ALICE) is the best thing to do, so we decided to go to this training.”

Along with Jones, Park Side Elementary Principal Darci Love, Marshall Middle School Principal Mary Kay Thomas, District Executive Assistant Tricia Stelter and Resource Officer Sara VanLeeuwe attended ALICE training back in June in Luverne. Like Jones, the others also led the training for all the staff in the district.

“It’s the way schools are going — but not just schools — it’s also churches and other organizations,” Williams said. “Police officers attend ALICE training, too. They teach people these techniques other than just being sitting ducks.”

Jones said the next step is to develop a plan on how the district is going to roll ALICE training out to the community, parents and students.

“Our job is still to teach the kids and there are other things we need to spend time on as well (besides ALICE training),” Jones said. “We only have so much time in school, so you have a balance. Each building will need to develop a plan for all its students and we’ll start communicating this to the community and to our parents. Probably where this is headed is some kind of building crisis team in some capacity down the road.”

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