I used to carry Large ALICE in ancient history in the Army.
Had to look that up! But perhaps I should have explained. A.L.I.C.E. Is a program to deal with an active threat to counter the failed “hide-in-place” that schools and other institutions used prior to the mass slaughters of recent years. I just realized that a similar evolution of tactics occurred after the 9-11 hijackings—before: cooperate with the hijackers and you’ll likely live—after: if we’re going to die anyway we might as well fight back.
ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. When a threat is discovered, it is announced to the whole school and law enforcement. The school is locked down. The locations of the threats are broadcast to the entire building. If the threat is close to you prepare to do what you can to thwart his plans. It may include throwing books chairs or desks—if you are going to die anyway, why not? If the threat is distant, evacuate to a distant location, hopefully out of sight of any attacker.
Our local sheriff’s office provided the training. They assured us that their tactics have changed as well. Instead of waiting outside for SWAT teams to arrive, they will engage the shooter. The school I substitute at is in a rural location. We figure it will likely take 15 to 20 minutes for law enforcement to arrive if something bad were to happen.
Unlike most new “ideas” in education, I like this one.