Active shooter training held at CB Tech

MOSES LAKE — It’s not something that school officials want to think about, but it is something they have to think about. That’s why, said CB Tech director Christine Armstrong, the school’s teachers and aides got training in what to do in the case of an active shooter.

CB Tech officials are discussing the possibility of giving the training to students also.

Schools are required to train for emergency situations, fire drills being the best example, Armstrong said. A CB Tech instructor suggested school officials add a session in defense in the case of a shooting. Parents send their children to school with the expectation that they will be protected at school, and school officials need to know the best ways to do that, Armstrong said.

If school officials don’t know how to react, she said, then kids can’t be expected to know.

The best way to prevent trouble at school, she said, is to know the kids in a school, know what’s going on with them and try to connect with and help kids who might be having difficulties in life. “That’s our Number 1 defense.” But it’s necessary to know what to do, just in case.

The training was conducted by the Moses Lake Police Department. Armstrong said school officials will conduct drills, since training is always more valuable when it’s reinforced with practice.

Both staff and students need to be mentally prepared before an incident, she said, to decide what they will do in the case of an emergency and to ensure the staff and students know.

“The minute you hear something, do something.” The response to shooting incidents has evolved over time; currently staff and students are instructed that it’s best to get out of the situation, and the building. “Leave as soon as possible.”

As a result people need to know the building, and know how to get out of it in a hurry. “These students need to know every exit in the building,” she said, not just the entrances and exits to classrooms. Current practices are for people to run rather than hide. “You get the students out of the building if at all possible.”

If it’s not possible to get out, teachers and students should deny access to the room, barricade the entrances – not just lock the door but block it – and close any window blinds. And people inside the room should have a plan to defend themselves, if it comes to that.

“You have to fight back. You can’t have the mindset that you’re helpless. But you have to have a plan.”

School officials must have a plan too. “Those parents trust their kids to our care." And because of that school officials and students have to be ready, Armstrong said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.