By Dave Fidlin
CORRESPONDENT
As school shootings, bomb threats and other potentially catastrophic events occur at schools across the nation at a growing rate, Waterford Graded school officials have examined the district’s policies and procedures for most of this school year.
The outgrowth of those efforts is ALiCE, a program that stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate. The offering is described as an option-based, proactive response to a manmade threat.
On the heels of a number of planning efforts, the district is gearing up to roll out ALiCE at the beginning of the 2016-17 school year.
Efforts to look into what steps would be taken in the event of an active shooter situation, or a similar threat, began in November when the Waterford Graded School Board approved a plan to bring ALiCE, a national program, to the district.
Since the board’s decision, a staff-level group of six professionals have formed to create age-appropriate lesson plans, drills and other activities to help prepare staff and students in the event of an unfortunate, unexpected threat at a school.
The work group has included Jane Aegerter, assistant principal of coordinated teaching and learning; Ed Brzinski, superintendent; Mary Stapenek, the district’s bookkeeper and office manager; and Denise Woodruff, human resources and curriculum instruction assistant.
Rounding out the group are two teachers: Liz Bartlett (Evergreen Elementary School) and Mindy Crayton (Woodfield Elementary School).
The group’s suggestions have been aired on multiple occasions this year at parent information meetings. A small handful of parents attended the final meeting June 1.
Crayton said WGSD staffers have received training on ALiCE this school year. A more intensive, daylong session is planned during one of the teacher in-service days in late August, immediately before the start of the 2016-17 school year.
Several of the work group representatives discussed the format of the ALiCE activities during this week’s meeting.
Elementary-level drills and activities will last about 15 to 20 minutes on a weekly basis; at the middle school, ALiCE is expected to absorb a 47-minute class period once weekly.
An area of focus this upcoming school year, Crayton said, will be a so-called “when-then” drill that will depict a scenario and identify the appropriate responses and reactions staff and students should take.
The topic of active shooters and other tragedies, naturally, is a sensitive topic — particularly for some of the youngest members of the student body. Throughout the discussion of ALiCE, WGSD officials have emphasized lesson plans will be age appropriate.
Crayton said transparency, particularly for parents, has been an overarching goal as ALiCE gets underway within WGSD’s schools. A website, WGSD Safety, has been created and can be accessed at http://wgsdsafety.weebly.com/alice-safety-initiative.html.
At the same time, the district is keeping some details under wraps so potentially sensitive information is not shared with criminals and others who could evoke harm.
Crayton also emphasized that development of the ALiCE program will remain a fluid process within WGSD and subject to revisiting within a year — if not sooner.
“We’re not done with it by any means,” she said.
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