GREENFIELD — A safety symposium by Greenfield-Central Schools got a bit tense when a panel of school-security experts was asked whether kids were being taught to “be a hero” in their training about how to respond to an active shooter.
The question was one of a dozen put to officials by the handful of parents who attended the discussion Wednesday night in the high school auditorium. The crowd of about 50 people was made up mostly of teachers, principals and other school staff.
Organizers of the discussion had hoped the event would ease parents’ concerns about school security by allowing them to ask questions of a panel of school officials, police and firefighters. The event was moderated by Daily Reporter editor Dave Hill.
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Audience members were encouraged to write questions on note cards, which then were screened and passed to the moderator. One parent wrote that her child had made it seem as if children were being taught to seek out and find an attacker if one entered the school. They’d be heroes if they did, the child told the parent.
That’s simply not true, said sheriff-elect Brad Burkhart, who regularly conducts active-shooter response training in schools and businesses across the county.
Kids are being taught to save themselves. If they’re able to save others along the way, that’s great; but they’re certainly not being asked to, Burkhart said.
Instead, he strives to give them options, to teach them to make plans for how to survive a situation whether it means fleeing, barricading themselves in a safe place or defending themselves against a shooter, he said.
That can be a tough reality for parents to contemplate, Jim Bever, Greenfield-Central’s director of student services, interjected.
It’s impossible for a parent to ever think of their child in a life-or-death situation, to consider that their child might have formulated a plan to survive an attack at their school. Just sitting and thinking about it would take anyone to a dark place, Bever said.
But planning can be empowering, he said. Kids can find relief from anxiety about shootings in knowing they have a plan and that they’re trained to do something if the unthinkable ever happens.
“Our kids need to have a plan. They need to feel more than helpless. Because that helpless feeling is the worst,” Bever said. “By following the training (Burkhart) is discussing, our kids can have a plan. They know they can be part of a solution and not a helpless bystander.”
Throughout the course of the evening, the parents who attended learned about different safety measures Greenfield-Central has taken in recent years to ensure its buildings are secure. This includes updating security cameras, taking advantage of an offer for free metal-detector wands provided by the state and training more teachers to be school safety specialists.
Audience members also heard about different mental-health programs the school has started in hopes of addressing a student’s concerning behavior before they turn to violence.
Talk of a safety forum began during the summer, not long after a school shooting in Noblesville left a teacher and a student injured.
Superintendent Harold Olin said at that time that he hoped such a discussion would alleviate anxieties parents might have about school security.
Chris and Candace Privett came to the symposium hoping to learn about the security protocols the schools have in place. They walked away with a feeling of satisfaction, knowing that these administrators and police are talking about school safety as much as they are at home.
It was nice to see the strong partnership first responders seem to have with the schools, and that, together, they are being proactive in the security steps they take.
Chris Privett said it was encouraging to hear what the panel has learned from other schools, other towns, where shootings have occurred, and that they’ve taken those lessons to heart.
It’s as if everyone — parents, police and school officials alike — have this feeling that the school will never be safe enough; and that’s a good thing because it means they’re always evolving, updating and making changes, he said.
Following the inquiry about whether students were being taught to “be a hero,” Burkhart told the crowd about a lesson first-responders learned following the shooting at Columbine High School in 1999.
Investigators released a portion of a 911 call made by a librarian that day, and she can be heard telling students to stay put, to hide under desks and be quiet. Ten of the 13 kids who died that day were hiding in the library.
It’s this sort of tragedy that Burkhart is trying to prevent with his active-shooter training.
He preaches this shorthand: Avoid. Deny. Defend.
It’s an alternative to the more traditional “run, hide, fight” because Burkhart believes that model is too linear. It seems to be telling people to follow steps — Step 1: run. Step 2: hide. Step 3: fight — rather than having them consider that they might need to think up other possibilities.
But “avoid,” “deny” and “defend” are the three options kids have if an intruder enters their school. The option they choose is entirely dependent on where they are in the building in proximity to the intruder, Burkhart said.
The kids in Noblesville had this training and followed it when the shooting occurred in their school, said Jason Horning, deputy chief of the Greenfield Fire Territory.
He’s sat through training with Noblesville first responders since the incident and heard how the children in the building responded.
The kids who could get out were able to escape. But those who were too close to the danger took other steps. They barricaded themselves in their classrooms. When the SWAT team stormed in to lead them to safety, some officers were hit by who kids had prepared to fight the shooter, Horning said.
The statistical likelihood of a school shooting is low; it doesn’t stop kids from worrying about them, however, Bever said.
Kids know the possibility of a shooting exists — the same way people who climb aboard airplanes know in the back of their minds that an emergency may arise while they’re in the air, he said. It’s best not to dwell on it; but any wise person will look for the emergency exits, listen to the pre-takeoff speech and think up a what-if plan.
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Sheriff-elect Brad Burkhart, the current chief deputy of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, helps train both law enforcement and civilian response to an active shooter.
No one can outline a step-by-step plan to escape danger, but Burkhart encourages people to come up with a tentative plan for how to get to safety should they find themselves confronting an intruder.
He preaches this shorthand: Avoid. Deny. Defend.
Running away from the shooter is the primary way to stay safe, so you should always be aware of your surroundings and take note of the nearest exits to any room you’re in.
If running isn’t an option, hide. Barricade yourself somewhere safe and wait for police to arrive.
If hiding isn’t an option — and only as a last resort — fight back. Throwing things to distract the shooter can create an opportunity to escape.
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Greenfield-Central Schools officials brought together a panel of first-responders for a safety discussion Wednesday that they hoped would ease parents’ concerns about school security.
Questions asked by parents at the event will be typed and posted to the district’s website, www.gcsc.k12.in.us, along with answers from the panelists.
The panel included:
Greenfield-Central Superintendent Harold Olin
Greenfield Police Chief Jeff Rasche
Greenfield Police Officer Josh Mullins, Greenfield-Central’s lead school resource officer
Sheriff-elect Brad Burkhart, currently the chief deputy with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department
Hancock County 911 Director John Jokantas
Deputy Chief of the Greenfield Fire Territory Jason Horning
Greenfield-Central Director of student services Jim Bever
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