“For me, the whole ALICE concept is a state of mind,” Valley Grove School District Superintendent Kevin Briggs told parents and guardians during a program last week.
The meeting was called by district administrators and Sugarcreek Borough police so parents could better understand the district’s new approach to school violence situations.
ALICE – which stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate – is a program that was developed after the Columbine High School shooting in Colorado. The program teaches individuals to make informed decisions based on their unique situation and proximity to the “violent critical incident.”
“If something happens, we want them to know what to do if an adult isn’t in the room,” Lt. Ryan Ashbaugh, the Sugarcreek interim police chief, said.
Ashbaugh explained that in most school violence situations adults are the first targets.
Throughout the meeting, administrators and Ashbaugh assured parents and guardians that student training would be age appropriate.
“It’s not a fear approach, its not to scare anyone,” middle level principal Kelly Hart said.
Elementary school principal Jake Saullo likened the ALICE training to fire drills in the frequency in which it would happen. Hart then rationalized this by saying school violence incidents have now become more common than actual fires.
Ashbaugh also made the point that ALICE training might save students’ lives long after they’ve moved on from school if they are ever caught up in a shooting situation.
“What we would like to do is have an officer in each building,” Briggs said. The district has been researching different options, including Sugarcreek Police Department and the Venango County Sheriff’s Department.
Hart left those gathered with a picture of the statue of a student cowering under a desk that was created by the father of a victim of the Parkland shooting in Florida.
“We have kids ourselves,” she said. “This is very personal for us.”
