One school safety plan in all NACS schools is the ALICE drill. This procedure lays out all the steps necessary to be prepared in an active shooter scenario.

While the signs outlining the process of an ALICE drill have been hanging in teachers’ rooms for the past year, Carroll enacted its first active shooter drill on December 12 during homeroom.

While this drill may seem unnecessary to some, it is the reality of the world we live in. School shootings have been broadcast through the news multiple times in the past years; they are not as unlikely as we wish they were. In 2018 alone, 11 school shootings have occurred where multiple students were injured, one of which being right here in Indiana. On Thursday, December 13, another school shooting almost occurred in Richmond ending with the teen committing suicide instead.

Practicing active shooter drills is the right thing to do in schools. Even though many people would not like to admit it, school shootings aren’t fantasy events, and it is crucial to be prepared for the worst. ALICE drills should be looked at like any other drill. We practice tornado, fire, and earthquake drills each year because there is a possibility of each of those events occurring. With school shootings becoming more of a nationwide threat, we must be prepared for the chance that it happens in our very own school.

These drills take lots of planning though, so they may only be able to occur once or twice a year. The ALICE drill that took place this semester included officers from the Huntertown fire department and the Allen County Police Department. However, the extra preparation, for both students and staff, received for an active shooter situation makes it well worth the planning necessary to enact this drill.

To make these drills less staged, however, administration may want to consider conducting a drill where the “shooter” is already inside of the building. A vast majority of school shooters were either former or current students at the school that was attacked. Enacting the drill with the scenario of a student with a gun will prepare both students and staff for a more likely situation; the shooter is already in the building. This will change how quickly teachers must decide whether to stay in the room or evacuate, as there will not be communication between staff before the shooting begins.

While nobody wants to think about the horror of an active shooter in their own school, that is the reality of today. Realizing this and preparing for the worst will ensure that everyone in the building can be as safe as possible in the tragedy of an active shooter situation.