It’s a matter of being safe rather than sorry.
Sedona Charter School will host an active violent response drill on campus on Saturday, April 6, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m..
It will be overseen by Integrated Community Solutions to Active Violence Events, which led an active-shooter drill earlier this year at the now-closed Big Park Community School in the Village of Oak Creek.
Sedona Charter School teacher Amy Tedrick said her staff is working on a preparation/evacuation plan to have in place for different emergencies that may arise.
“We want our teachers to be prepared,” she said. “The climate in the world is extremely violent and we want to protect the children in the school to the best of our ability. We want parents to know that we have taken the extra training to help protect their children.”
The scenario to be played out will be that of an active intruder scenario and how the staff and students can be prepared for it. Members of the Sedona Police Department and Sedona Fire District will participate.
“We are hoping to have staff learn what to do in this type of emergency and have the confidence in knowing what to do in handling this type of a situation,” Tedrick said. “The staff will learn possible evacuation plans. The staff will teach the children about the importance of having an emergency plan and how to be prepared for drills.”
She said a drill like this is extremely important for schools to learn how to prepare themselves for any emergency.
“We are responsible for the safety of the students while they are at school,” she said. “Terrible incidents at schools are happening too frequently.”
Tedrick said they invited the general public to take part in the drill. This was at the request of the ICSAVE team to offer this to anyone interested in being trained for an active intruder situation to participate. ICSAVE co-founder Bruce Whitney said this type of training is needed in this day and age.
“Unfortunately, perpetrators of these violent acts specifically focus their sites on schools and our faith-based communities,” he said. “Indeed, past active shooters who have been apprehended specifically refer to those two previously hallowed and safe institutions as soft targets.
“Since the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre, there have been over 427 active violence events take place on K-12 campuses across America. Unfortunately, this has become the new normal for us and every member of our communities needs to be prepared to face these high-consequence events.”
ICSAVE is an Arizona-based charitable foundation created by volunteer professionals united by our dedication to the prevention of traumatic events through education, preparedness training and community outreach programs.
“We sustain ourselves entirely through the goodwill of the community, so that we can teach others how to save lives,” Whitney said. “All of the education we provide the community, public safety professionals and members of our Armed Forces is free.”
Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 122 or by email at reland@larsonnewspapers.com
