West Carrollton schools to hold ALICE training
The drill coming after a student’s recent gun arrest ‘coincidental.’
The district says the training coming just after a student was arrested for allegedly having a gun in his locker is“truly coincidental.”
WEST CARROLLTON — Training for active-shooter and other threat situations is planned at West Carrollton High School next week.
West Carrollton School District’s training in ALICE — an acronym for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate — will be from 5 to 6 p.m. Jan. 23 in the school’s Guiler Auditorium at 5833 Student St. The event is open to the public.
The district announced the training a day after the high school was put on lockdown and police arrested a student they said had a handgun in his locker. But the district said the timing of its announcement about the training and Tuesday’s incident was “truly coincidental.”
Superintendent Andrea Townsend and School Resource Officer Tiffany Osburn “have been planning this since the beginning of the school year,” according to
district Spokeswoman Janine Corbett. “They wanted to present the training first to staff, then invite the com- munity.”
West Carrollton school staff training was completed in December, district officials said.
The district said it has several certified ALICE train- ers, including Osburn and Townsend, who will conduct the training.
The training will include strategies for security needs that may arise in any public setting as well as at home, according to the school district.
Last week’s incident at West Carrollton High School involved a 17-year-old male who remains in juvenile detention.
He was arrested after Osburn learned about the weapon and relayed information to the West Carrollton Police Department, said Deputy Chief David Wessling.
When the teen appeared in Montgomery County Juve- nile Court, Judge Anthony Capizzi ordered he stay in custody due to information discovered after his arrest.
ALICE training has been used by organizations including police, health care, govern m ent, business and schools, according to the ALICE Training Institute.
Training is important, according to the institute, but practice can be lifesaving.
“There is no time for poor performance when someone is trying to take your life. All recommended skills must be very easy and very effective,” according to its website.
“Practicing new skills that can be easily learned, or better yet, using skills already well-known to users, allows for them to experience the effectiveness of the action. This will build their confidence in using their skills to survive and enhances the likelihood that they will actually use these skills if necessary.”