Lives Depend On It

I've written this blog for more than 10 years, and I'm not sure why I have mainly remained silent on school shootings.  I think they are just too personal for me.  I have 500+ students and staff enter and exit my building each day, and I have learned I need to outwardly process each shooting with as little emotion as possible so I can focus on what I must do to help keep everyone safe.  Of late, however, I better understand that blocking off those emotions is not healthy either.  I also struggle to not make this argument sound too political.  I see posts on social media about what should happen or that place blame on one party or another.  I suppose I could do some of that too, but it wouldn't be professional of me.  Ultimately, I believe it may help to list what my district has done to respond to active shooters in schools.

• Yearly training in ALICE protocols which is a more proactive response to active shooters than our previous model of only locking down.  My school hosted a regional, two day training for other school districts and professionals.  All of our teachers have also had multiple, multiple trainings either in person or over the computer from our police department or the ALICE Institute.  The mindset shift is you should no longer just lockdown.  Everyone must be constantly aware and vigilant.
• Conduct and monitor at least two ALICE drills each year with students and staff.  This means our teachers have active shooter conversations with students.  They discuss what they would do if something bad or scary happened in the school.  We run scenarios asking classes to simulate how to evacuate or take cover and blockade doors or even throw staplers or other items at attackers.  We do this in conjunction with our police liaison officers, and I always send an email to my families explaining what we did and offering resources on how to talk with their children about these situations.
• Help craft and teach social stories so students with special needs can better understand an active shooter drill or scenario and how to respond as safely as possible.
• Create videos so teachers can engage students in these conversations with common language across the entire school.
• All staff have badges that allow for entry at only certain doors.
• Ensure the door systems are properly programmed and working.
• Report any issues with doors or programming to our remarkable Maintenance and Technology Departments.
• Engage with a new, district-level person in charge of implementing an all-building/district door safety system.  We will eventually be able to instantly lock all doors from a remote location.
• Regularly make sure camera systems throughout the school campus are working and updated.
• All volunteers have background checks.
• Remodel front office so it is a single-point entry system.  You must now be double-buzzed into and out of our school office before you can access the classroom areas.
• Hang "to go" bags in all classrooms.  In the event of an emergency a teacher may need a bag with water, bandaids, or other simple items.
• Install stop the bleed kits in all classrooms.  (Let that sink in just a bit.)  All of our classes have stop the bleed trauma kits installed in them.  Teachers will receive training each year on how to use these kits.
• Implement and regularly test all-call messaging app so staff can communicate with each other if everyone needs to evacuate the building at different points.
• Secure small sections of recycled fire hose so doors with scissor-type closers can be better locked in an emergency.
• All buildings have radios that can radio directly to the Novi Police dispatch.  The Novi Police is able to review and watch live video inside the schools in their dispatch center and on a laptop.
• Send a yearly "robo-call" to all families telling them this is the system we would use to share emergency information.
• Update emergency operation plan and a summarized building crisis document so all staff have the same information at their fingerprints.
• Meet with building crisis team and police liaison officer to develop rally points and parent reunification processes.  This is a constant work in progress.
• Greet police officers who walk through our building weekly.  I review any immediate concerns I have or patterns in our school or on the school property.
• Implemented a threat assessment protocol to be used whenever we are aware of a student who threatens someone else.
• Our district did a full-scale active shooter drill with the police and fire department at the high school.
• Mount numbers on each exterior door so we can better share with emergency services where to go to meet someone in need.
• Have staff test their ability to use the all-school PA system from their classroom phones.  If you see something, say something!  Do not just call the office.  Timely information can save lives.
• In the wake of a school shooting in our county we closed school for three days to give additional training and support to our staff and students.
• Actively attend to social/emotional learning and relationship skills to help develop empathy and prosocial behavior for all.
• Counsel and empathize with staff, students, and families who are scared--genuinely scared--about what could happen in our school.

This list is not comprehensive.  While I did not personally complete everything on this list, I have played a part in all of it.  My colleagues, students, and community engage in this work each day.  I call it our "culture of vigilance," and it's exhausting.  It's like this fog that permeates everything we do.  The entire climate is tempered by what could happen, and the recent shootings only make that cloud even thicker.  It's only when I let my emotions slip through that I realize how much energy and effort is focused on ensuring our school is safe.  My staff and I take this responsibility very seriously.  We understand this is our job.  We do not shy away from the exhaustion or the efforts we must undertake, but I do worry about what we are unable to do to help our students, our staff, and our families because of our efforts to combat school shootings.

How many times in your job can you be wrong?  While I know my job is multifaceted, when it comes to school safety--my team and I can never be wrong. The cost is too high for any mistake.  My worst nightmare is having a shooting happen in my school.  I worry for our students.  I worry for our teachers.  I worry about the impact all of the reactions to shootings are having on our youngest students.  I worry.  (If I may--my faith encourages me to not worry, but I still struggle.)

But--we have taken action.  Our district, as you can see above, has taken dramatic steps to be proactive.  Still, we need to do more.

I do not know the answer to school shootings.  Even more, I know there is not an answer.  I do know there is room for everyone in our country to play a part in making sure they never happen--ever.  Lives depend on it.