A.L.I.C.E training raises concerns

President of National School Safety and Security Services (NSSS) criticizes a common school safety protocol method, called A.L.I.C.E.

“It preys on the emotions of today’s active shooter frenzy that is spreading across the nation,” Ken Trump, president of NSSS, said in a blog post. “We respect the individuals and organizations putting forth these theories, but it is our opinion that the concepts are well-intended but not well-thought-out.”

NSSS is a firm specializing in preK-12 school security and safety consulting. Trump, no relation to the United States President, has been the head of this firm for the last 21 years, according to his LinkedIn page.

A.L.I.C.E, according to the A.L.I.C.E. training website, is short for Alert, Lockdown, Information, Counter and Evacuation. It is a response method that teaches those in crisis situations to call 911, to evacuate if you safely can, but if you can’t to barricade the room and to communicate with others in the building. However, if people cannot evacuate and the assailant gets in, they should fight back. 

“It is unrealistic to expect 25 students and a teacher to react simultaneously, with split-second accuracy and timing, when a person with a gun unexpectedly walks into a room,” Trump said.

Trump is among a large number of people who believe the traditional lockdown protocol is the safest option in an active shooter situation. Trump said there is over two decades of historical evidence proving this.

“The (A.L.I.C.E) response was developed by former police officer Greg Crane and his wife, Lisa Crane, a former school principal, after the 1999 shootings at Colorado’s Columbine High School,” Reporter Evie Blad said in an EdWeek article.

Blad said this protocol gained popularity and traction after the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting.

“About 4,000 school districts and 3,500 police departments have A.L.I.C.E.-trained personnel,” Blad reported.

A.L.I.C.E. is the protocol for crisis situations at Kent State University. Every freshman goes through training during their First Year Experience course. Additionally, every residence hall director (RHD) is trained in A.L.I.C.E. protocol. Resident Assistants were trained each year on A.L.I.C.E. protocol until it was introduced in the First Year Experience courses.

“We started making [training] mandatory as an assignment for the First Year Experience Course [in] fall of 2014,” Meghan Factor-Page, assistant director of Student Success Programs, said. “It was available and promoted to students before that, though, through the Student Success Series.”

Residence Hall Director (RHD) Diane Platton said she took an A.L.I.C.E. course when she was hired three and a half years ago.

Platton hasn’t had any refresher courses since then and believes that would be beneficial.

When asked if she thinks the traditional lockdown method is more efficient and safer, Platton said she really can’t say exactly what she would do in an active shooter situation. She thinks about it a lot, every teacher and faculty member at a school does, and how she would respond is entirely dependent on the situation.

If someone is targeting specific individuals, they’re going to go for them and anyone who gets in their way, Platton said. However, if they are actively shooting anyone, that’s a completely different situation.

She said A.L.I.C.E. makes her feel safe and her number one goal is to get as many people safely out of the building as possible.

When trained, the RHDs watched videos and listened to seminars on A.L.I.C.E., Platton said, but they did not practice barricading a door or receive other hands-on training.

“I think A.L.I.C.E. training is effective,” Platton said. “I think it would be more effective if there were more hands on training, though.”

The Kent State Police Dept. and other emergency responders conduct training drills over the summer. Platton said she feels safe knowing the emergency responders are well equipped however, to the best of her knowledge, the students and faculty do not conduct drills and that would be valuable.

“I learned things during A.L.I.C.E. training I hadn’t know before,” Platton said. “Your instinct might not necessarily be the safest option. There are those little caveats you don’t think about until you are in a training so I definitely feel more prepared there.”

Platton said the training was geared toward classroom settings, leaving RHDs like her to figure out what to do in a residence hall setting.

“I think they could specify the training to be more intentional for different situations like residence halls,” Platton said.