Educators: Response to potential active shooter has evolved

Schools officials have a different mindset about school shootings: It's not a matter of "if;" it's a matter of "when."

It's a daunting thought that's been reaffirmed by the 345 fatalities in more than 100 school shootings since 1980.

Whenever a school shooting occurs, public debate about arming faculty with weapons resurfaces. Officials at Jefferson City Public Schools, Blair Oaks Public School District and Helias Catholic High School said there are no plans for teachers to have concealed weapons.

Area schools have, however, heightened measures to ensure the safety of their staffs and students in the event of an intruder, including facility security and drill procedures.

School officials at the two public districts and Catholic high school said the school buildings are locked during the school day and visitors can enter only at the main entrance after being buzzed in from someone in the main office. Only faculty members have key cards that open the doors at certain access points, including the main entrance.

JCPS outfitted all schools with vestibules, and Blair Oaks constructed vestibules at two of its schools. Those allows visitors and students to enter the first set of doors to get out of the weather, but they can't get any farther into the school without being buzzed through the second set of doors.

By summer 2014, Blair Oaks Superintendent Jim Jones said all three schools were outfitted with access control points. Districtwide, 120 security cameras film every car that enters and exits the campus as well as exterior building doors.

In the past 10 years, he estimates the district has spent $200,000 to $250,000 on security additions and updates.

JCPS officials asked the Jefferson City Police Department to conduct an audit of the school facilities, which was completed in June 2014, said Bob Weber, director of facilities for the district.

Three key issues floated to the top: security cameras, secured entrances and exterior lighting.

The district spent $1.7 million in summer 2015 adding secured entrances to the eight schools that didn't have them yet, and reconfiguring some schools so the main office was at the front of the school, Weber said.

Outdoor lighting was updated with LED bulbs which capture a clearer picture on the security cameras, and about $300,000 worth of security cameras was added.

Over the past five years, Weber estimates the district has spent around $4 million on security enhancements.

Just as school building security has been upgraded, so has the active shooter drills and trainings.

"I think back to when I was in school I had fire drills and tornado drills, but now it's active shooters," Jones said. "It's been a long time since a student was killed in a school fire, but way too recent since a student was killed by a shooter."

Protocol used to be to lock the classroom door, turn off the lights, cover the windows and huddle in a corner, but drills have become more fluid with several response plans depending on the situation.

Many schools nationwide, including Helias, are using a program called ALICE Training Institute. It stands for alert, lock down, inform, counter and evacuate.

Schools can't plan specific procedures because every shooting is different, said Helias Principal Kenya Fuemmeler. Depending where the shooter is, students and teachers have to decide if they should bunker down in their classroom, run to a secured area or evacuate the school.

Students who stay in classrooms are told to barricade the door with desks and chairs, making it difficult for an active shooter to enter.

If the shooter does manage to get past all the obstacles, students are told to fight back in any way they can.

Helias recently had an active shooter drill and a teacher discussion about what went well and what could be improved, Fuemmeler said.

"We had a candid conversation that only police will open their locked (classroom) doors because there's a chance all the administrators won't be alive," she said. "If we can address that early, then we'll be more prepared."

The JCPS district is planning to use the ALICE training in January after the school's full-time safety and security officer officially starts, Weber said.

Weber said the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requires all districts to have a safety and security officer. He's been the acting official in that role, but the district thought it was important to hire someone with a background in safety.

Kurt Mueller is retiring from the Highway Patrol after 30 years of service to join the district. One of his first tasks will be to start the ALICE trainings in every building, Weber said.

Jones said Blair Oaks doesn't specifically use the ALICE training program, but the procedures are very similar.

The goal is to slow the shooter as much as possible, he said. Any added distractions or obstacles buy time for police to respond, and because the most fatalities occur in the first few minutes every minute counts, he said.

Several schools started changing their drill protocols after the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, that ended in 26 fatalities, Weber said.

He said so many children were killed because they huddled helplessly in the corner of the classroom.

Jones said Blair Oaks has changed reactionary procedures after watching news coverage of the 1998 school shooting in Jonesboro, Arkansas, that resulted in several child fatalities.

One of the shooters pulled the fire alarm, knowing everyone in the building would evacuate, he said.

In order to prevent history from repeating itself, Jones said, staff members try to locate the potential fire instead of immediately evacuating the school.

"The school isn't going to burn down within minutes," Jones said. "We stay put first and look for the fire."

Schools are also partnering with police departments for trainings, and all the area schools have resource officers.

Resource officers are employed with local police departments, but work in the schools for added security, and as an informal counselor and educator.

"Back in the day, if I had a police car in front of my school there must be a problem," Jones said. "That's not the feeling now."

Sgt. Ralph Lemongelli with the Cole County Sheriff's Department has been working with Blair Oaks for four years after students expressed an overwhelming desire to have a resource officer at the district. He spends most of his time at the Blair Oaks schools, but spends some days at parochial schools and Pioneer Trails Elementary.

In the case of a shooting, he's the first armed officer on scene, he said.

Lemongelli said the police departments have changed their plan of action when there's an active shooter at a school. Instead of waiting for backup, Lemongelli would immediately enter the school, and so would each officer next to arrive, he said.

He agreed time is crucial and the longer officers wait for backup the more harm a shooter can do.

If a shooting did occur, all area schools would have immediate alerts sent to parents.

During a crisis it's important for schools to have quick, clear communication with parents, said Amy Berendzen, assistant to the superintendent for school-community relations for JCPS. If it's poorly executed, it can create more harm, she said.

She attended a statewide conference called "Plan, Prepare and Practice for the Unthinkable Emergency," hosted by the public information officer involved with the 1999 Columbine shooting.

"The reality of the situation is kids spend more time at school than anywhere else, other than their homes," Berendzen said. "It's our responsibility to keep them safe."

She said the conference talked about how to communicate with the public when something happens. A text message is sent out to parent subscribers and social media alerts are posted as soon as possible. An automated phone call and email could follow, she said.

"We're working hard so everyone feels in the know," Berendzen said. "We try to communicate from the smallest need to know - a website down - or an area of serious concern about the safety of staff and students. We can always be better, but we work hard to improve that."

School officials agreed it's a scary time and shootings have become more prevalent.

"One of the first things we have to realize is if we can prevent with mental help or extra help," Fuemmeler said. "Rarely is this the first cry for help."

"It's just a sad time," Weber said. It appears a lot of school shooters, and police could confirm, are trying to top the last one. Most end in suicide. They go in with a mission to do as much harm as they can. When you have someone like that, it's hard to plan for that."

"Obviously students and safety is the highest priority," Jones said. "When parents put their child on a school bus, they're looking for that child to get off the school bus after a safe day, and we want them to do some learning in between."