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A letter was sent home last week to the parents of all students in the Cinnaminson school district that discussed new ALICE training for live shooter situations.
The letter was instantly shared across social media, with plenty of parents expressing concern, fear and worry over the new training.
We collected some parent concerns, spoke with principals within the district, the Superintendent, the police and the Office of Emergency Management to put together this piece.
Two members of the township’s public safety department attended training in Medford.
School resource officer Michael Czarzasty and OEM Dan Norman spent the better part of three days in training.
Director of Public Safety Michael King said that the enthusiasm for ALICE from Czarzasty and Norman are what led him to make the suggestion to Superintendent Dr. Salvatore Illuzzi.
“We always strive to work with the school district to do the training as set down by the state guidelines. We always felt there was a better way to do things. We were always concerned about people not having the tools they could use. This gives them tools to make sure they don’t become victims.”
Dr. Illuzzi knew from the first presentation that ALICE was the right way to go.
“It was a no brainer because you accept that the safety of your students and staff is your number one priority and number two isn’t even close.”
“When Mickey King approvached us, the logic was here’s what the research on shootings shows us. You stop to think about it and it doesn’t take long to realize the research is correct. The way we’ve been doing things, we’ve been putting our students and staff at greater risk.”
So what is ALICE? ALICE is an acronym that stands for the following:
Alert: Get the word out! Use clear and concise language to alert everyone in the building of an active shooter.
Lockdown: The lockdown procedures are still part of this new training, but properly barricading the access to the room has been added.
Inform: Continued communication during the incident keeps all those in the building informed and keeps the shooter off balance.
Counter: Apply skills to distract, confuse and gain control.
Evacuate: Reduce the number of potential targets for the shooter, and reduce injuries and fatalities.
The final two aspects of ALICE, counter and evacuate, are what concerned parents the most when speaking with them.
Many asked on social media, ‘do they expect our children to fight the shooter?’
Parent April Sullivan (7th and 10th grade) said, “Another component that is a bit confusing is “counter-apply skills to distract.” Im not sure what type of skills they are referring to, do they want our children to fight back? I’m not sure if this will cause a type of “hero syndrome” if they are encouraged to do so. I definitely don’t want my daughter fighting back.”
In short, the answer is no, according to Czarzasty.
“We would never train younger kids to go after an assailant. Where as one of the objects is counter. It’s all if it erupts in the room. We have to provide some sort of training for them to disrupt it. We need them to distract the shooter from getting fixed on a target.”
The main goal of ALICE is “to provide students and staff with different options to enhance their chances for survival should they be faced with a life or death situation.”
The letter (embedded at the bottom of this post) clearly stated that, “In NO WAY are we asking or teaching our students or staff to make any attempt to subdue an armed gunman outside of their secure area.”
Despite this statement in the letter, many parents voiced their concerns to Cinn City News.
Katie Quinn has a son in sixth grade at the Middle School. She said her son expressed concern over a shooter when he was in the fourth grade.
“When he was in 4th grade he complained about being in the first seat in the first row of his classroom. I asked him why? Because you are right in front of the teacher? He said ‘No, because if a shooter comes in I am the first to die.’
Quinn also raised concerns over possibly holding a live shooter drill at the schools.
Officer Czarzasty pointed out to us that this will not happen.
“We will never be doing live fire drills. We are going to train them how to barricade a room and how to evacuate. The schools will be taught differently based on their age levels. We’re going to do it the right way because we want the program to stay in place.”
Parent Crystal Farrell, who has three children in the district (1st, 5th & 8th) expressed a need for the training and concern at the same time.
“My overall thoughts based on the information received is that I would rather the district be over prepared than under prepared. However, this preparation does not guarantee how those trained will actually react if the need presents itself. These situations are scary and though we live in a fairly safe and secure neighborhood, we are not impermeable to an ill-willed or disgruntled person to take it out against our staff and children.”
Middle School principal Frank Goulburn thinks that the students will easily grasp the barricade portion of the ALICE training.
“Once its explained to you, at least for me, it just made sense. I think that hopefully sometime in the month of December, Officer Czarzasty will start speaking with our students by grade level.”
“The whole barricading thing is something that will be the easiest for the students to comprehend. It makes sense. If someone wants to get in and sees there’s furniture in front of the door, are they really going to expend that much effort when the police are getting closer and closer and closer?”
Dr. Illuzzi stressed that lockdown will still be part of all ALICE training provided.
“The lockdown is still the primary focus to keep the children and staff safe in their rooms. We will be looking at some type of barrier to bolt the door even safer. This will make it even more secure as far as getting in any of our rooms.
“It would be naive for us to think that hope is going to be the determining factor. We have to train and retrain. We look to what others have experienced and we have to learn from it. Alice is kust one more vehicle to ensure the safety of our students and staff.”
OEM Norman, while acknowledging that lockdown is still important, also noted that evacuate is even more important.
“For example, if the person’s at the auditorium and there’s a class in the gym, why should they hide and wait? Get out of the building. The example they used in the training was there’s no kid still running around the neighborhood looking for a place to go. If they get out of the building, they’re safer going down the street.”
Czarzasty piggybacked off that comment and made it known that the kids would be found, whether by phone or making direct contact.
“The main point is get them away from the incident. We dont want to have to do this. We have kids in the school district too. If we didn’t think it wasn’t the safer option, we wouldn’t do it. I spoke to the high school students about it and said we need to give you options aside form sitting in the corner of the room.”
Czarzasty made a presentation to the high school student body and staff recently and he said it was well received.
“We’re never going to enter a classroom and shoot airsoft rounds at the students. The high school kids got it after seeing some training videos. They said it’s something that needs to be done.”
Aside from the initial presentation, Czarzasty will be running training drills at all of the schools with the administrations, according to high school principal Darlene Llewellyn.
“We will shortly be having our first drill. We are anxious about the drill and the aftermath as this is the first time that we will be using very plain language, such as, “there is a shooter in the building.” In the past, we called this type of drill a lockdown. The students and teachers knew exactly what we were drilling, but now to actually say “shooter” has a different tone and heightens the sense of alarm and fear, even at the high school level.
“Our plan is to roll out the drill in stages, just barricade the first time, and then give a location the next time. We plan to practice this drill often so students and teachers feel comfortable with their responses. Giving the teachers the decision making power to evacuate or not, at first will be uneasy for many, but in time, will empower them to help save lives in the event of an actual crisis.”
High school student council vice president Justyne Gutowski offered her thoughts on the presentation:
“If you decide to lockdown, you barricade the door, and if they get through, we are supposed to throw things at the shooter and kind of fight for yourself.”
“I think everyone was pretty surprised, but everyone thought it was better than the old method. I think everyone’s more open to this.”
OEM Norman added that the old method of hiding together in the corner of a room makes it easier for a shooter.
“The shooter doesn’t have to be a good shot when he has people standing in a group, compared to when we are dispersed.”
Although not connected to the school district, Mayor John McCarthy offered his input into the ALICE training methods being deployed.
“I feel confident those involved; the school board, school administrators, CPD and CFD, did their due diligence and will have the best procedures in place.”
Director King ended our conversation by noting that the police department will be holding two or three informational events for parents.
“We want them to come out and see a presentation and have their questions answered. We want them to understand this is a positive thing.”
“Lockdown has been a conversation year after year and we said it doesn’t make any sense, but we have to do it. This gives an opportunity that just makes sense. We always thought it was the right thing to do.”
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