FARMINGTON -- Northwest Arkansas school superintendents said they want to host active threat training for their employees offered by the Arkansas Attorney General's office.
The price for the training is right. It's free.
Tony Allen, a retired police officer and now a special agent in the Attorney General's office, told superintendents a partnership between the Attorney General's office, the Arkansas Department of Education, the Criminal Justice Institute and the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy offers the training to teachers and staff. Allen's offer was made during a monthly meeting of superintendents Thursday at the Northwest Arkansas Education Services Cooperative.
Greenland Superintendent Larry Ben said he talked with Allen after the meeting to indicate his interest in the training for teachers and other employees in his district.
Gentry Superintendent Randy Barrett said he planned to follow up and perhaps schedule a training session next summer.
"Free practical training is hard to turn down," Barrett said.
The training lasts four hours, covers different scenarios and gives teachers and other personnel strategies for protecting themselves and students in an active shooter incident. About half of the training time is practicing those strategies.
"You have become first responders in your schools," Allen said, noting in some areas the response time for police can be 45 minutes. The national average is five minutes, Allen said.
The training includes what to do in a common area, such as a library or cafeteria, and strategies for classroom safety.
"Most teachers don't know what gunshots sound like," Allen said, noting the layout of some schools prevents teachers at one end of the building from hearing gunshots in another part of the building.
Janie Darr, Rogers superintendent, asked if training on dealing with bomb threats is available, a reference to a spate of threats of violence at schools throughout Northwest Arkansas last school year. There have been two threats this year in Rogers schools. Police have made arrests in both instances.
"We need that desperately," Darr said. Allen said training to deal with bomb threats and other types of violence is being developed. The office also has a division that deals with Internet crimes against children. The school safety program also includes security assessments of schools, he said.
Ben said he hoped to bring the training to Greenland this school year.
"The more training you have, the more ideas you have, the more likely you will have some appropriate measures in such a situation," he said.
General News on 10/08/2014