McKibben Elementary teachers and staff attended an active shooter training at their school Monday, January 22, to prepare them for an unlikely event of an active shooter on campus.
The training was put on by IMReady Emergency Preparedness Program. Through the IMReady program some key aspects that were taught were threat awareness and looking for unusual or suspicious behavior, preparedness and response, de-escalation training, situational training, threat and physical security, and post-event management and recovery.
In the training the speaker gave specific scenarios to the teachers along with tactics and tips on how they can best prepare themselves and protect their students. They were also given insights into how to slow down and prevent attacks.
“This training is not meant to scare you but to make you aware,” the IMReady speaker said.
After going over facts, tactics, and techniques with teachers, the speaker urged each staff member and the school to prepare a plan. The plan’s purpose is to give the school and teachers confidence that they are prepared in the unlikely event of a threat.
“Unfortunately we do have to start this planning, and active shooter drills will be a part of our regular drills,” McKibben principal, Sandra Gallegos, stated.
McKibben plans to have a school wide active shooter drill sometime in late February.
The program IMReady was developed by Keenan, a California insurance brokerage and consulting firm for health care organizations and public agencies. Their purpose was to prepare an organization for a disaster or mass casualty situation that could take place at their facility. This program was developed in response to, “current worldwide threats related to terrorism and other acts of violence.”