Central’s policies concerning school shooting prevention, admin. gives their social opinions

Recent years have brought upon the issue of gun violence in America. Mass shooting and high-profile cases of police brutality have made America’s youth aware of the world they live in. Sandy Hook, the elementary school mass shooting that shook the world to its core. It was real; 26 people died, 26 students and faculty died at the hands of gun violence. But it was the Stoneman High School Shooting Valentine’s Day 2018 that America finally woke up to its loose gun laws and outlook toward mental health. Since then, a series of protests led by the survivors of the Parkland shooting have occurred. Their leadership, bravery and strength encourage current students—the ones who are aware—to think about their own schools.
While lockdown drills have always been necessary, there are now lockdown drills specifically attained to active shooters. Here at Central, the latest lockdown drill involved teachers and students to move large objects in front of the door, as well as cover the window so no one can see inside. Administrator Dan Wilson speaks of the training for security guards and teachers saying,                “As an administrator I have had the same training as teachers, in addition to crisis training; people from Omaha Police Department come in and talk to us about what to do in different situations.” There is also mandated training for suicide awareness and other mental health aspects that prepped online, distributed by Dean Administrator, Ellisa Kirksey. When administering online training Kirksey ultimately makes judgement calls for what she believes is important right now. “I look at the E-Rip classes that they [TAC Building] offer and from there I make a judgement call,” Kirksey said. “Also, I try to pay attention to what’s going on in the world, so I assess what the training is and assess the temperature of the country.”
Even though teachers and administrators have the online training about mental health and what seems to be ‘How to Spot a School Shooter 101,’ what is different from Central’s training from last year is, “We’ve added additional steps to try and keep our students safe, we have additional checkpoints,” Wilson said. The main objection is maximum protection for staff and students in the high school. “We barricade the doors now, we’re adding blinds to the doors to pull down in every classroom.” This is pre-cautionary to an active school shooter but, “Now it seems you can’t rely on locked doors, you have to go through the scenario: run, hide, fight. This technique is currently being taught to teachers to make quick decisions in life-altering situations. The basic principles of           Central training goes as such: run, hide, fight. “…You can’t think in a linear like I have to run, then hide and worst case I have to fight,” Wilson said. Central is in the stages of teaching this technique more for the deans, administrators and teachers, the one who can protect.
After the shooting at Stoneman High School, Central has become more diligent. Staff went to each department and had presentations on Emergency Situations. It is more or less preparedness. In this, Kirksey amongst others inform department heads about lockdowns, being aware and run, hide and fight. “We had two people come and talk to us and when it comes to safety, it is no one person’s job, it’s all of our jobs, but I am asking people now to be more aware than they have been before,” Kirksey said.
“You can never prepare for a school shooting and that’s the unfortunate truth,” Wilson said. This is now an issue that students and teachers must prepare for; the fact that they may have to fight for their lives because of the NRA’s strict hold on the government, especially under the Trump administration.
It is already rare for Central to do more than two or three lockdowns a year, but this semester alone there has already been two. “I’m more diligent this year than I have been…to me that shooting in Florida was different than the other ones,” Kirksey said. “I saw young people getting upset about what was going on and I think you all have a voice…I think we will be able to get some things changed.” With the current prospect of protests and adamancy for stricter gun laws, Kirksey believes that since young people are emotional, combined with their agenda, now people are listening.
According to Wilson, the security guards have their own specialized training that they receive at the Teachers Administrators Center (TAC) building. But for everyone else, they are always getting new training. As the days progress and the world changes, teachers and students must be in the know about current social issues as it affects them just as much, sometimes even more.