SUAMICO, WI (WTAQ) – What do you do if there was an active shooter in our school? That question was posed to students at Bay Port High School Wednesday.
Students and staff participated in a mock active shooter drill in which discussions on how to use the ALICE method were had in each classroom.
The ALICE method is acronym for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate, and is a highly regarded method of response based on the fact that options are left open based on the current situation.
“The scenario was that we had an active shooter in part of our building, and each class discussed what would be the appropriate action to take, so each classroom could have and should have had a different plan of action based on where the they were and where the threat was.”
The district staff has been training on a response for quite some time, but Frieder said Wednesday the students got to see how it works.
“We feel staff is the most imporant people to learn the system.”
Freider said the staff would guide the students in a real situation, but the more the students know, the better.
With ALICE,
Freider said the most important factor is strong communication with everyone.
“That could be using the PA or cell phones or email. Anyway to inform people where the threat is so they can make the best decision is life saving.The drill came as a surprise for the students, but they quickly learned that can make a life saving difference.
Frieder said they never hope to have to execute what is learned, but recent events nationwide is a reminder that preparation is key.
