Central Community Schools in DeWitt is changing their procedure in the event of a school shooting. The district has started training staff on the "ALICE" approach. "ALICE" stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate. The idea behind the new policy is to get as many students as possible away from an active shooter.
"In my perspective it gives students a much better opportunity for survival with an armed encounter or an armed intruder in the school," says DeWitt Police Chief David Porter.
With "ALICE" the first step is to get the word out about the shooter. The alert would notify everyone in the buildings through the intercom or a message system about what is going on.
"It allows students and staff members to make the decisions with the options they've been given," says Central Community Schools Superintendent Dan Peterson.
The next decision could be to go into lockdown. The "ALICE" approach only encourages locking down a classroom if the shooter is in that area of the building. However, unlike other procedures "ALICE" does not want students to huddle in the corner or hide.
"Anytime you can create time and distance between you and a gunman, you're much better off," adds Chief Porter, "If they can barricade a room, maybe they can throw a chair threw the window and escape that way."
If an escape is not possible, "ALICE" encourages those in the building to keep informing each other about what is going on. According to the system if the shooter does go into a classroom, students and the teacher are prepared to counter the shooters actions with a diversion.
"It's a sticky issue for staff members, administration and for parents." adds Peterson, "We're not training students if there's an intruder in the building to go get them and subdue the intruder."
The biggest difference between "ALICE" and the current policy is the entire school would not be locked down. Due to constant communication, areas of the buildings that are not near the shooter would be evacuated immediately.
"If somebody comes into your classroom or comes into the school get out, don't wait around," says School Board Member Jim Irwin.
Students would go to areas that have been designated as reunification points, where they can be reunited with their parents
"We will be able to get the emergency resources we need to the school and be able to take care of the situation that's occurring," says Chief Porter, "We will not have to fight the onslaught of traffic and parents rushing to the school."
Training will be handled the district's school resource officer. Students will be trained class by class, so they can see how to escape or use items in the classroom to protect themselves.
The school district will discuss the "ALICE" approach with parents at 3 meetings next week. The meetings are Tuesday, September 18th, Wednesday, September 19th and Thursday, September 20th. Al the meetings start at 7pm and are in the high school auditorium.
