STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN ACTIVE SHOOTER TRAINING

As the national dialogue continues about how to

prevent school violence, the Montebello Unified School
District (MUSD) recently hosted a session for district
administrators and a school-site training session to
prepare teachers, staff, and students. The school-site
training was conducted at Bell Gardens High School by
the Bell Gardens Police Department in conjunction with
the MUSD School Police.

The training sessions were conducted as tragic events

such as the school shootings at Columbine High School, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Virginia
Tech University, and most recently, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fl.,
continue to occur throughout the nation.

In the aftermath of Marjory Stoneman, school leaders across the country are having to deal
with the issues of both real and perceived safety at schools. It is true that mass school shootings
are rare and that the odds of a student being shot at school are low. However, it is also true
that violent acts at schools are more common than anyone would wish. According to the
National Center for Education Statistics, during the 2015-16 school year, nine percent of schools
reported at least one student threat of physical attack with a weapon.

“Schools should be a safe place, and nothing is more important than the safety of our students
and staff,” said MUSD Superintendent, Dr. Anthony J. Martinez. “We must do everything
possible to prepare. The entire point of the sessions was how to mitigate the damage of such
an event.

“While we focus on safety and security throughout the year, tragedies like the one that
occurred in Florida reinforce how important it is to do everything possible to prepare for a crisis
or emergency,” Dr. Martinez said. “It makes us re-review our plan and work to be better.”

During the sessions, faculty, students and staff were presented information about dangerous,
real-life scenarios, but were also given hands-on training to help prepare them for such a
potential threat. Much of the training focused on prevention, intervention and recovery.

Prevention is the responsibility not only of educators, but the community as well. A community
has to identify and report those who might have a tendency or the potential to harm others
and are obligated as individuals to do something to prevent others from acting out and bringing
harm to others. Parents must take an active role by checking their student’s cell phones,
email and social media accounts for any suspicious or alarming activity.
As part of intervention, parents need to be able to discuss things with their student, listen to
them, and they need to be cognizant of changes they see
in their behavior and not be shy about talking about
(those changes) and talking to others.

“In light of recent tragic events, it's especially important to

identify and address the pre-incident indicators, to prevent
similar incidents from taking place in the future,” said
MUSD School Police Chief Linh Dinh. “The MUSD Police
Department prides itself on providing ongoing tactical
response training to its officers and supplying them with
the tools to do their job safely and efficiently. This training
builds upon the existing skill set and knowledge base of
school administrators, further enhancing their capacity to lead during times of crisis.”

The training sessions also stressed that everybody needs to have a good idea of what to do in
these types of situations and a lot of it boils down to situational awareness and being aware of
your surroundings. It is important to know what is going on around you.

According to lead trainer, Dr. Gus Frias, Education Sector Chief, FBI's InfraGard Program,
“students and staff have a constitutional right to attend schools that are safe, secure and
successful. As we confront the challenges of violence impacting local K-12 schools, we must
update related policies and procedures, and train educators to excel in violence prevention,
intervention and recovery. In the words of the Navy SEALS, ’The more we sweat in training, the
less we'll bleed in battle.’"
The National Center for Education Statistics stated that during the 2015-2016 school year,
lockdown drills were conducted at 94.6 percent of public schools. This number has risen sharply
as more school shootings have taken place and has more than doubled since the early 2000s.
Currently, schools in 32 states are required to conduct active shooter drills, but many in other
states have also done so independently.

“We must have a higher level of planning and commitment than any shooter,” Dr. Martinez
said. “The problem won’t just disappear. It is how we learn to prepare and react that will make
all the difference.”

RESOURCES:
Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans
http://rems.ed.gov/docs/REMS_K-12_Guide_508.pdf

Active Shooter Preparedness

http://www.dhs.gov/active-shooter-preparedness
Primer to Design Safe School Projects in Case of Terrorist Attacks and School Shootings
http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/st/bips07_428_schools.pdf

DHS Protective Security Advisors

http://www.dhs.gov/protective-security-advisors

Critical Infrastructure Vulnerability Assessments

http://www.dhs.gov/critical-infrastructure-vulnerability-assessments

If You See Something, Say Something

http://www.dhs.gov/if-you-see-something-say-something-campaign

Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS): Technical Assistance Center
http://rems.ed.gov/

Student Reports of Bullying and Cyber-Bullying: Results from the 2009 School Crime
Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011336.pdf

U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC)

http://www.secretservice.gov/ntac.shtml

FEMA: Prepare. Plan. Stay Informed

http://www.ready.gov/

President’s Plan to Protect our Children and Our Communities by Reducing Gun Violence
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/wh_now_is_the_time_full.pdf

Bullying Prevention
http://www.stopbullying.gov/

Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI)

http://nsi.ncirc.gov/

Safe Havens International: A Non-Profit Campus Safety Organization

http://www.safehavensinternational.org/