Preparing for the worst

PREPARING FOR THE WORST USING ‘ALICE’

By Kaylee Miyamoto

As in-person schooling started back up this year, so did the worry and concern about the threats and dangers posed for students at school. For many years and now decades, violent threats and actions have become more prevalent in schools, so much so that drills and lockdowns have been normalized in the average American teen’s life.

Every year of in-person school since the late 1990s, not only have these threats increased, but so have the actual school shootings, causing districts to take actions to make sure their students aren’t hurt.

On Nov. 30, Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana, Madisyn Baldwin, and Justin Shilling were fatally shot at Oxford High School, 30 miles north of Detroit, Michigan. Six students and a teacher were also injured in the incident. The shooter, Oxford sophomore 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, is now facing charges, and as the case continues, it was found that this situation was likely preventable and something that the school was aware of beforehand.

This shooting is one of many, as shootings and violence at schools has increased. People with violent intentions can steal weapons like guns from parents or other adults in their life, then use those weapons to attack their fellow students, whether it be one person or as many people as possible.

Following major events like the Oxford shooting, schools across the nation received many threats about shootings, bombings and other violent attacks as some make an effort to garner the same attention or fear as a school shooter. Within our country and even Washington state, multiple schools were shut down as “copy-cat” and concerning threats came to light online less than a week following the tragedy in Oxford.

In the Edmonds School District (ESD), police showed up to Edmonds Woodway High School after concerning graffiti was found in the bathroom on Nov. 19 threatening to “shoot up” the school on Dec. 8. Police presence was put in place on campus, however many students and families still stayed home out of safety. Similarly at Scriber Lake High School, a threat was found on a bathroom stall that students reported to the school, and later extra police presence was put on campus to ensure students’ safety. Police were put on alert as well at Brier Terrace Middle School following a threat made on Instagram.

To address the increase in threats, the ESD sent an email to parents and families. “Our community is strong, and we are grateful to the student who came forward and alerted the school to this message,” stated the email. “We appreciate any additional information that students may have about this. Please talk with your students and encourage them to share with us if they know anything.” To counter this rising problem, schools across the nation have been working to prevent these situations by encouraging mental health and for students to come forward, and have also been working to prepare students and staff on what to do in case of a violent intruder, student or not.

The ESD has been using the ALICE drill for years as a guideline for students to follow to make sure no one gets hurt in case of a violent intruder.

“I feel prepared,” Bryan Smelcer, STEM techer, said. ”ALICE gives us many options to use, rather than a sequential plan.”

ALICE stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter, and evacuate. Each word has a different meaning and teachers guided students through the drill on Nov. 30, coincidentally the same day as the Oxford shooting. During PASS, a presentation was given, and then classroom doors were barricaded and students practiced hiding across the classroom to follow the protocol.

“We set up multiple tables against the door, and chairs to back it up,” Spanish teacher Marcie Setala said.

However, there is still much that could be improved on how we practice using ALICE.

“Administrators should have given us more of a heads up instead of just a PowerPoint,” Smelcer said.

The disorganization and short notice caused some classes to not even make barricades.

“I want our preparation to be more streamlined,” Setala said. ”All the classes should be doing the same thing in an organized and planned fashion.”

The ALICE drill encourages muting phones instead of turning them off so students can communicate with each other about the situation through technology to help them be aware and potentially escape safely, but not to post publicly for non-students to see.

The training also makes it clear that no students should try to be a hero and should only counter the intruder when necessary to regain control, not to fight. Evacuation is the final step of the drill, informing students to leave campus and not come back, contact family, and check-in via the news and school notifications.

As in-person learning continues along with the rise in school violence, it is important for students to follow these guidelines and pay attention to these drills as it may be the difference between safety and harm.

To prevent these situations, school officials say it is vital to report anything concerning or threatening to staff members or police and through the internet, as students often are the first to know about potential threats. H

“I feel prepared. ALICE gives us many options to use, rather than a sequential plan.” Bryan Smelcer STEM TEACHER