OXFORD, Mich. (WXYZ) — At Roosevelt High School in Wyandotte Thursday, police say a student attacked another with a knife. School went into lockdown.
“We just instantly started barricading the doors. Putting tables, chairs, throwing them. Just anything in front of the door. Everyone got real scared. We had people crying,” said Rob Hogge, a Sophomore at Roosevelt High.
Wyandotte Schools, like Oxford Schools shares info on its ALICE training right on its website.
We have talked about how law enforcement said ALICE training done just weeks ago at Oxford High prevented greater loss of life last week. Now the CEO of the company behind ALICE training is speaking out about how he believes schools can not only react, but prevent violence.
ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate. It provides steps to take in an emergency or active shooter situation. The Oakland County Sheriff after the shooting at Oxford High last week said the training likely prevented more deaths.
“I think we saved lives. I credit law enforcement, the SRO team the staff that trained the organization,” said JP Guilbault, the CEO of Navigate 360, which provides ALICE training.
He says his company is also working to help schools develop processes that prevent such incidents from happening.
“These acts of violence can be prevented,” said Guilbault.
7 Action News asked him how school workers balance responding to students as potential threats without developing a bias against children who need support. He said the prevention policies his company teaches aim to do that with processes that involve a team.
“A counselor is going to look at things from one point of view. A teacher or principal from another. A police officer or school liaison from another. It is important that the collaboration and data being reviewed have objective different perspectives,” he said.
His team is developing improved models for prevention using research published by the Secret Service this year. You can read it at https://www.secretservice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/2021-03/USSS%20Averting%20Targeted%20School%20Violence.2021.03.pdf.
