Monroe County schools to teach A.L.I.C.E. program to educators

Educators in Monroe County to Receive Active Shooter Response Training

Monroe County schools to teach program to educators

Monroe County Schools in partnership with local police agencies are implementing an active shooter response program. During the 2014-15 school year, trained law enforcement officials and school personnel will provide staff training that is based on current research shown to increase survival rate during an active shooter incident.

This action was precipitated by the dramatic increase in school violence and school shootings across the nation. Law enforcement officials have been working in conjunction with Monroe County School districts to select and implement a response method. The group has adopted the Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate (A.L.I.C.E) program, which provides tactical advantages that teachers and students can use in the event an intruder/shooter enters a school.

An overview of the A.L.I.C.E. approach is:
Alert: Sound an alarm of the situation at hand and call 9-1-1. Information of the situation should be provided by all means possible including the Public Address system. (Ex. Gunman in the cafeteria)
Lockdown: Doors should be locked to provide a time barrier and give students and teachers time to recognize the threat. If they are not in the danger zone they should evacuate as fast as possible.
Inform: If possible, keep teachers, students, and police up to date on the shooters’ location inside the school.
Counter: Interrupt the physical act of shooting. If the shooter walks into a classroom or hall and you have no escape route, start throwing anything and everything you can at him/her to interrupt shooting and accuracy. This is a last resort and is a survival process to stay alive. If multiple people can overpower the shooter after being distracted and hit with items, swarm the shooter and detain him/her.
Evacuate: We want as many people away from the situation as possible. If during the alert stage or any other stage the students are not near the shooter, students should evacuate as quickly as possible.

Monroe County Sheriff Dale Malone is committed to responding uniformly to this type of emergency and to making sure school personnel are equipped with as much information as possible. The A.L.I.C.E response is also endorsed by the Monroe County Association of Chiefs of Police. The superintendents in Monroe County have played a key role to ensure this training is implemented.  Schools are not taking a “fight back” approach, but rather looking for strategies to neutralize harm done to students and staff.

The superintendents believe that educating staff and students will always be our primary focus. The horrendous attacks that have taken place on school grounds around the country have caused us to elevate our safety measures and do whatever we can to maintain a safe and secure educational environment. We appreciate all the support from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and other local law enforcement have invested to make sure that we have a sound safety plan for all Monroe County districts.

For more information regarding A.L.I.C.E., go to the official training site.

If you have any questions, please feel free to speak to our superintendent Mr. Kleinhans, 734.850.6001 or email at mark.kleinhans@mybedford.us.