Why Our Schools’ Active Shooter Plans Aren’t Working

First and foremost, I want to extend our deepest condolences to all of the families of victims in the most recent school shooting in Texas and all of the families who have lost loved ones in tragedy.  We simply cannot imagine losing a child in any scenario and are praying for healing and understanding during this difficult time.  We hope this post offers some hope and ignites action and change.

[ReviewDisclaimer]

This post wasn’t supposed to be published until August 2018.  Back in April, I went to a training and got some great tips that I was planning to include in some “back to school” posts after the summer.  I thought it could wait – but clearly it can’t.

Last week’s school shooting is a sobering reminder that our schools are NOT prepared and they do NOT have an effective method for keeping our children safe.

Disclaimer: I am not a professional.  I’m just a parent who happens to work in a school and attended an initial training on ALICE (Alert, Lock down, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) hosted by our insurance company.  We haven’t even taken the full course yet, but a brief introduction was enough for me. The biggest takeaway? Our schools (public & private) are doing it ALL wrong.

Second disclaimer:  This is in no way political.  Let’s get past the mental health issue, gun issue, background checks, etc.  Let’s assume someone has a gun and they have gained entry to the school. What now?

If you ask anyone that goes to school or works in a school what their plan is for an active shooter situation, 9/10 will tell you they announce a code name, lock down the school, and wait for the police to come.  Sounds like a decent plan, right?

NOPE.

Here’s why the current plan sucks:

• Lock down is DUMB. And it’s dangerous. Lock down was created when there was street violence in LA and the gangs were shooting near schools.  The initial plan was to hide all the kids inside and keep them locked up to keep them safe from gunfire (which totally makes sense.) Unfortunately, that plan was never created for a shooter WITHIN the school and our systems NEVER changed the protocol. Therefore, we’re locking kids and teachers in the classrooms and giving them no skills or tools to keep them safe. Basically, we’re counting on the police to come save us before someone (who has already gained entry to the school) finds us.

• We have one plan. Schools really love a good system.  Fire drill? Hop up, head outside, and wait for the all clear.  Unfortunately, that just doesn’t work in an active shooter situation.  You can’t just have ONE blanket plan in this situation because there are too many scenarios that could happen.  What about kids that are outside? What about kids in the front office or hallway?

• Codes are useless.  I thought codes were a great way to inform everyone what was going on until I went to the ALICE introduction training.  What happens if I’m a substitute teacher and I don’t remember the codes? What if I’m from out of town visiting the school and I hear “Code Blue” over the intercom?  Guess what “Code Blue” means to me? Absolutely nothing.

• Timing is everything. The police can be ON THE CAMPUS sitting in the parking lot and STILL not respond fast enough.  It’s impossible. If you don’t believe me, recall the facts from the VA Tech shooting. Police were literally sitting 500 yards from the building where a shooter went classroom to classroom looking for people to kill.

Our schools are vulnerable because our plan sucks and the people who are committing these crimes (most of the time) are students within the school who know exactly what the plan is.  They take advantage of it and it’s going to keep working until we make some changes. I hate writing this but it needs to be said.

Our schools don’t need to invest in guns for teachers or big expensive equipment or less entrances/exits.  We need to get real and implement ALICE training in all of our schools.  I literally put my school’s active shooter plan in the shredder immediately after this meeting.  It’s pointless and it’s not going to work.

Want to know what our teachers and kids should actually do in this situation? Click the image below to keep reading (subscribers, check the link in your inbox).