New administrators in West Virginia schools
gathered at the Charleston Marriott to learn how to plan for a situation they
hope never comes about.
As part of the Principals’ Leadership Academy , 127 principals and assistant
principals received training and the tools to develop a plan in active shooter
scenarios.
The session run by members of the
Charleston Police Department based on analysis of school shootings and other
active shooter scenarios around the world.
Experts suggest following a method
of Avoid, Deny and Defend when faced with most active shooters in the school
during the average three minutes it takes for police to respond.
Administrators are taught to avoid
the shooter by having an exit plan and moving away from the threat as quickly
as possible. If this is not possible, the next step is to deny by creating
barriers to prevent or slow down a threat from getting to them, then remaining
out of sight. Finally, the last resort is to defend themselves against a threat
with aggressive, committed actions.
The sessions also allowed the
administrators to share ideas with one another and develop plans based on what
others have done.