jmra wrote:. . .I won't go into our procedures, but I will say that almost every plan I've seen has teachers with students locked in their room. Staff without students at that time have other responsibilities. Often this is going to be administrators and support staff.
If I were putting together the plan, I would strongly urge my admin and support staff to receive the proper training and to be armed as they are most likely going to be the first point of contact.
After Sandy Hook, the Buckeye Firearms Foundation started offering training to teachers in Ohio. It is a 28 hour firearms course with standards that exceed those required for law enforcement firearms training in Ohio. Now it is hitting the news that these teachers have been quietly getting approval from local school boards to carry in the schools.
This Columbus Ohio news report on the subject yesterday was followed by a survey that is currently 90% Yes 10% No on the question whether schools are safer with armed teachers.
http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/201 ... sroom.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I have a friend who is armed every day now, and only the principal knows in the school. This is in response to research that shows if a shooter knows who is armed in school, it gives the shooter an advantage. His training included a comprehensive course with trauma care training, situational training, weapon retention, room clearing, etc. It was a very long and difficult program.
Another person I know who is a county prosecutor had this observation:
There is one aspect of training that you did not mention: the insight that comes from being an experienced teacher. The difference between you and a security guard or a gung-ho Rambo wannabee who wants to carry a gun into the school and "protect the kids" is that you will be a lot better at recognizing what is a threat and what is not. Experienced teachers are also good at recognizing when a situation is escalating, not only within the moment, but also over a period of days, weeks or months. As far as I am concerned, that experience counts for a lot.