Options DO Exist for Comprehensive School Safety Programming
Trump stresses that there are many other options schools can and do take to protect children that are not leaving children as "sitting ducks." A few of the many examples include having trained, armed school resource officers (SROs) and school police department officers on campuses, employing trained and professional security staff, utilizing proactive security measures including physical security and violence prevention practices, training school staff and crisis teams on emergency response procedures, having evacuation and lockdown plans that are practiced regularly, training students on drills and common sense security measures such as not opening doors for strangers and to report strangers in the building and on campus, providing blueprints and floor plans to first responders and having them train using school facilities, improving prevention and support programs for students, and a host of many other measures.
The key, Trump says, is to have comprehensive school security and preparedness plans, not simply knee-jerk, feel good reactions such as the ones we have heard like arming teachers and having kids carry bulletproof backpacks. Most important is having well trained adults capable of making fast, solid judgment calls to protect children and themselves.
"I fully support effective school safety training," Trump stressed. "The real questions, though, are: "What is effective? What and who are we training? and "Can and will it be properly implemented in schools?"
Trump said that he also fully supports and encourages the right of parents to teach their children how to react to various types of threatening situations. Such discussions should be age-appropriate, presented with an understanding of the developmental and emotional state of the child, and realistic in expectations and outcomes, he says. (http://www.schoolsecurity.org/)
Alert-Lockdown-Inform-Counter-Evacuate (ALICE):
Training of school staff, who are legally and morally responsible for the safety of children, should be the focus
Teachers, administrators, school police and security officers, and other staff should continue to take the primary lead for protecting students.
Our Local and State Wide Community School Corporations need to implement programs that seek the safety and security of our children. It is the utmost importance that all schools have tighter security, proper personal, and adequate proceedures in place to maintain an environment that is sutible for learning.