MN School Districts Pushing To Take Trauma out of Active Shooter Drills

Minnesota school districts are working toward taking the trauma out of school shooter exercises through standardized drills and planning.

In recent years, multiple districts, including Brainerd Public Schools, have implemented a gentler active-threat protocol from the “I Love U Guys” Foundation, an organization that provides guidelines and training for school crisis incidents. The foundation’s Standard Response Protocol is focused on five actions that can be performed during an incident: Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate, and Shelter.

“I think the real value of moving to this Standard Response Protocol is it truly is standard,” explained Brainerd Public Schools Human Resources Director Jason Olson. “And it gives a common terminology for everyone, both in the schools, parents, but also our first responders.”

Shootings are a reality in the United States. According to the K-12 School Shooting Database, there have been over 3,000 such incidents since 1966. Preparation is a necessity, but more school districts wish to take the trauma out of the exercises.

“There was no protection at all at one point. I mean, schools were open,” said Peter Grant, Brainerd Public Schools Superintendent. “Because of what happened around the country, schools became much more interested and concerned about the safety of the building and the safety of the kids inside and the staff.”

According to Everytown Research & Policy, active shooter drills in schools are associated with increases in depression (39%), stress and anxiety (42%), and physiological health problems (23%) overall. These figures include children from as young as five years old up to high schoolers, their parents, and teachers.

“I’ve had teachers say, ‘I was scared. I knew this wasn’t real. I knew that this wasn’t an actual thing, but I got scared,'” said Rachel LeFavor, the Pine River-Backus School District’s Director of Teaching and Learning. “You have to acknowledge that these are real feelings and people might have triggers that you know nothing about.”

The “I Love U Guys” Foundation is led and supported by survivors, family members, first responders, and community members with a vested interest in safety, preparedness and reunification in schools. Across the country, over 40,000 schools utilize its Standard Reunification Method (for bringing students back together with their parents or guardians after an incident), and the Minnesota Department of Education recommends it as well.

“If we don’t think about what happens next, then it’s going to be that chaos,” LeFavor said.

“There is a standard script. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” Olson added. “Some really smart people have thought through the specific two-gate process of reunifying parents with students after an active event.”

The Pine River-Backus School District will also be attending a training session regarding the Standard Reunification Method this upcoming February.