In a time of mass shootings, it is safe to say that many people fear about the safety of our student body. So, what is exactly put into place in order to guarantee the safety of the school body? When interviewing Mr. Versteeg about the issue of school shootings, who is the district’s superintendent, he had a lot to say about the procedures about how to keep the students of Mason City safe. Mr. Versteeg had talked about the A.L.I.C.E program, which is a required simulation for staff in an active shooter situation. A.L.I.C.E refers to Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate in the situation of an intruder in a school setting. So far, all of the staff in the district have been certified, and take a refresher course every year. For new staff, they will have to participate in the A.L.I.C.E program and complete all the required simulations.
Mr. Versteeg affirms that one of the biggest challenges in this particular case is “how we communicate and organize as best possible” in this type of scenario. He also noted that explaining the district’s plan and procedures for an active shooter situation would give away our safety, since the suspect would know what to expect. Another challenge that arises is that, “It’s not going to go down the way you think it’s going to go down.” This simply means that what we practice and prepare for could be totally different in the actual scenario. He also comment, “It’s an issue that keeps me up at night.”
In the situation, it all comes down to instinct of fight or flight, which is hard to train others on how to act a certain way at that very moment. However, Mr. Versteeg states that, “We will keep getting better at this with more training.” Down the road, the A.L.I.C.E program will involve students in the mix, in which small groups of students will get together to talk with professionals who will then educate them on what they need to know. The reason for this is the possibility of a teacher breaking down in the stressful situation. It would then have to involve student leadership to guide everyone to safety. Mr. Versteeg also states that students play a key part in this, since they could “speak up” if they know anything to prevent such a horrific incident from happening.
The Mason City Police Department also helps out with the program. When interviewing Officer Trask about a school threat, he had stated that, “It will be handled like any other case and will be taken with all seriousness.” When the threat happens, the officers will first get in contact with any students involved with the situation, along with a contact to parents as well. Charges for such a threat would possibly include a harassment first degree and a threat of terrorism, which is considered a Class D felony. Then again, Trask stated that, “It all depends on the case/threat in order to guarantee the safety of all staff and students.” Officer Trask assured though that, “Schools shouldn’t be concerned, because everyone will be safe and everyone is taking it very seriously.”
With all of this in mind, it is reassuring that the Mason City school district has something in place in order to ensure the safety of the students of Mason City.