'Distract and attack' has parents up in arms
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November 5, 2013 |
Teachers at Boundary County Middle School
had an assembly Friday during which principal
David Miles II discussed something we all pray
never happens, what to do if a person with a gun
enters the school and opens fire.
Sadly, it's a topic school administrators can't
afford to ignore.
Unfortunately, many of the students went home
on Monday, when they were told, and reported what, to them, seemed the most
exciting part, "distract and attack," prompting
a number of concerned parents to call school
district trustees and flood Facebook with
questions.
"The message was supposed to be 'what are our
options when imminent threat is there?' Miles
said. "One option was having the teacher by the
door ready for the intruder in case entry was
achieved. This option did include using a
student to throw an object away from the huddled
students in order to distract the intruder and
attract their attention away from the students.
This option also included the idea of
potentially using another student to help the
teacher at the door. It was not the intention to
choose or force students into doing any of the
distract and attack but rather get them thinking
about what could be done in this rare case."
Superintendent Richard Conley, who attended the
assembly, regrets that what most parents heard
was only the very last resort.
"It's unfortunate, but in this day and age, we
have to actively consider a situation like this,
and discuss it with both staff and students to
get them thinking about what they would do in
such an extreme situation," he said. "To ignore
the possibility and not talk about it in hopes
it never happens is unacceptable. What if we
didn't and it happens? Students and teachers who
find themselves in such an extreme situation
would likely freeze and not know what to do."
The entirety of the discussion involved
considerably more than "attack and distract," he
said, though he agreed that to most middle
school age students, that would be considered
the most exciting part of the discussion.
The least exciting parts were run; get as far
away from the shooter as fast and far as safely
possible. If fleeing is not an option, lock
yourself in a room and hide.
Miles will meet with concerned parents and those
concerned at 4:15 p.m. today in the middle
school gym to explain what he told students and
address concerns.
"Both of my kids came home stating that their
teacher would be required to identify four
students - the biggest and bravest - to assist,"
one parent wrote on Facebook. "Two would
distract and the other two along with the
teacher would attack. These statements that came
home with our kids are the reason so many of us
parents were extremely concerned about this
plan. I applaud Mr. Miles for being proactive
with putting something into place to protect our
kids ... the mistake he made was not sending
home communication with our kids to explain
better. I suspect some of the conversations were
discussed with some facetiousness, but that's
why we requested to meet today with Mr. Miles so
that parents could find out if this is truly
what was discussed as a plan or not. I'm hoping
the kids just repeated the most dramatic parts
of the 'plan' and some things were
misconstrued."
But what if the shooter targets the room you are
hiding in, surrounded by friends and classmates
with no way out? Bullets are slamming into the
door and the lock is giving way?
What then?
In the military, nearly every soldier, sailor,
Marine and airman is trained for such last-ditch
scenario, and the elite forces; the SEALs, the
Green Berets, the fighter pilots, the Rangers,
Force Recon. all undergo what is undisputedly
the harshest training of their careers; SERE.
Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape.
When possible, run and hide, live to fight
another day. When resistance is futile, resist
and escape.
It's the training that has you eating bugs and
snakes to survive, sleeping in short bursts in
the most unimaginable places. It's designed to
be miserable beyond imagination.
While harsh, the training has saved many lives
in the most terrible circumstance. Most who
start the training quit; only the most resolute
suffer and endure.
The overarching goal is to get the trooper to do
what doesn't come naturally to most when nothing
else works; when cornered, turn and attack the
attacker. It gives the best chance that some
will survive.
The military recognizes that it takes training,
the hardest training.
While Mr. Miles' motive in raising "distract and
attack" as a last resort may be pure, there is
concern that his middle school student audience
isn't quite ready for the lesson. All they heard
was "brave," and "hero."
The school board, unaware of what was to come,
last month agreed to schedule a community forum
on school security before the end of the year.
The plan had been to invite experts, such as
Boundary County Sheriff Greg Sprungl, who served
as a law enforcement leader in Bosnia, to
provide experienced, realistic and professional
advice, and to ensure that adequate training was
provided staff and students.
As a result, the board will hold a special
public meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, November 12,
in the high school library to hear concerns and
discuss the issue. The regular trustee meeting
begins at 6 p.m.
"Mr. Miles may well be right," said trustee
David Brinkman, "but I don't know that. This
wasn't a discussion between administrators and
students, but the establishment of district
policy behind the backs of the board and the
public. I don't like that."
The board is grateful that its administrators
are thinking of the issue, and grateful for the
public's concern, but promises that this
issue will get full public hearing and the best
available guidance and advice before any child
or staff member will be asked to be a hero in
the event of the unimaginable. |
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