ALICE Training® Overview
The safety and security of students and staff is always the highest priority in Riverview School District. Subsequently, we continuously review our policies and procedures to ensure that recent research and best practices support our safety protocols. As we see a need to modify our practices, we do so after careful research, consultation with our law enforcement partners and consideration of what is best for all our students.
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To that end, we want to make you aware of new additions to our safety training, used in school districts nationwide, that will be presented to our students beginning this spring. We invite you to learn more about the training at one of two parent meetings being sponsored by PTSA.
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There are no parent meetings currently scheduled at this time.
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Starting in July of 2021 the Riverview School District trained 11 staff members as certified ALICE trainers. We then began training all district staff throughout this school year and are now preparing to transition training to our students in the spring.
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Preparing our students for emergency situations at school is not new. We host a variety of drills in our schools throughout the year to help students understand how to properly respond in the event of emergencies such as an earthquake or a fire. Historically, we have practiced Secure and Hold and Lockdown drills in order to prepare our students and staff in the case of an armed intruder. ALICE Training® strategies work to enhance the drills we currently participate in.
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The number one goal of ALICE is to keep students and staff safe and away from harm. The training is an enhanced lockdown drill. During an enhanced lockdown, students lock themselves inside a classroom or other school space when directed to do so by school staff. Blinds are closed, lights are turned off and teachers and students may barricade the room, if possible. Additionally, ALICE gives staff or students the option to evacuate or flee an area if that is the best course of action.
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This training further teaches staff and students, particularly in middle and high school, to be prepared as a last resort to “counter” - or otherwise apply skills to distract, confuse and gain control.
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AGE APPROPRIATE PRESENTATIONS
Active shooter and intruder drills can be distressing to our students and staff, as well as parents/guardians and families. We have given careful consideration to presenting the ALICE Training® in an age-appropriate way.
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Students in grades 6-12 will be trained by staff on full ALICE protocols.
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Students in elementary school will be trained in their classrooms in the context of a lockdown drill. The protocols that we teach elementary students will be personalized to their environment and grade level. We will emphasize the necessity of students listening and following directions from their teacher.
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Again, thinking about potential emergencies, especially the thought of a violent intruder in our schools, can be difficult. We recognize this training may be a difficult topic for some students and families. While we hope that we never have to apply this training in our schools, we would be remiss in our duties if we did not prepare our students and staff how to be as safe as possible.
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If you have concerns about your student participating in this activity, the district always encourages you to contact your school principal or classroom teacher.
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AND INFORMATION
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ALICE Training is not associated with, nor does it endorse or sponsor this website.
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ALICE TRAINING® FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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Q: How will students be trained in ALICE?
A: Secondary Schools (grade 6-12)
Students will be trained using a short video created by the ALICE program. The video was designed age appropriately for secondary students, training them on the five ALICE strategies. Students will practice strategies with classroom teachers during school drills.
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Elementary Schools (grade k-5)
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K-3 students will be trained using the ALICE Training® children’s book, “I’m not Scared…I’m Prepared” and the associated classroom workbook for teachers. Samples are included below.
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Grade 4-5 students will be trained using a short video created by the ALICE program. The video was designed age appropriately for elementary students, training them on the five specific ALICE strategies. Students will practice strategies with classroom teachers during scheduled school drills.
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Q: What is ALICE?
A: As part of enhancing the district’s safety drills, a new safety protocol called ALICE will be implemented in the unlikely event of an armed intruder in one of our school buildings. This training encourages staff and students to respond based on their situation, rather than rely on centralized instructions in dynamic times of crisis. In 2021, a group of 11 Riverview Staff members attended intensive two-day ALICE sessions. This training was also conducted at each school site, with all teachers and support staff throughout the school year. Our principals and teachers will begin to introduce the ALICE strategies to students during drills and practices that will be conducted this school year.
ALICE is a federally endorsed safety protocol. The letters stand for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate:
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Alert – inform people of the threat, giving as much information as possible.
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Lockdown – Students and staff can choose to lockdown and barricade the room that they are in if they determine that it is not safe to evacuate.
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Inform – pass on as much information as possible to others and to First Responders, including calling 911.
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Counter – an effort of last resort, if an armed intruder is able to get into the space they are in, individuals can counter with distraction or other tactics. Staff are being trained to use every effort to stop the intruder, instead of relying on the traditional lockdown and hide response.
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Evacuate – If it is safe to do so, all are encouraged to evacuate the building, and remove themselves from the threat.
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The basis of this new response plan is to provide staff and students more options. The five steps of ALICE are not linear. They can be used by staff and students in any order, as the situation develops. The number one goal of ALICE is to keep students and staff safe and away from harm.
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Q: Why the change to ALICE protocols?
A: Just like practicing what we should do in a fire with our frequent fire drills, we want to be sure that we will know what to do if an armed intruder is in a school. All our schools are equipped with a number of safeguards, some seen and others unseen, to keep our students safe. In addition, since we know that violence has become all too frequent in our world, the strategies and mental preparation we use in ALICE preparation are transferable to any public venue our students may find themselves in where a crisis may occur. This aligns our district with existing training in place with our partners at Duvall Police Department.
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We have to come to the realization that a violent intruder event can happen any time, any place and for any reason. There is a new standard-of-care which emphasizes the need for proactive, options-based, strategies, which means that we have a responsibility to those in our care and employment to do all we can to prepare them for this rare event, not only in our location but wherever they may find themselves. The federal government recommendations, as well as major law enforcement associations support these strategies. ALICE is the model upon which these official recommendations were built.
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Q: What are some of the reasons we teach Enhanced Lockdown?
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ALICE provides age-appropriate options.
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ALICE presents a proactive strategy - no longer just sitting and waiting for something to happen.
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Enhanced Lockdowns buy time for law enforcement to arrive - slowing down the aggressor.
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Fortifying the location to stop or slow entry by the threat.
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Individuals are no longer easy targets.
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The skills learned in ALICE become lifelong skills transferable to every location (not dependent on locks, key, or gadgets).
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Q: Can parents request to preview the videos and books used for ALICE training®?
A: Yes. Parents can contact their student's school and request the chance to come in and preview the video or look through the picture book.
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Q: How many organizations are currently using ALICE Training® as part of their safety protocols?
A: Per the ALICE website (https://www.alicetraining.com/):
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ALICE Training® has helped more than 18 million individuals, across multiple organizations and industries, prepare to respond with confidence in the face of violence.
ALICE training numbers, to date:
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+18,908,600 - Individuals
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+5,500 - K-12 School districts
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+5,100 - Police/LE departments
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+3,000 - Businesses
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+1,400 - Healthcare Facilities organizations
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+800 - Different Government Agencies
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+700 - Houses of Worship
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