LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — While the excitement of the new year fills the halls of Hanover Area High School, safety is top of mind for staff, administrators, and law enforcement. In the wake of school shootings across the country, a school in Luzerne County is taking a new approach to active shooter protocols.
"People are sending their children to this school, never expecting that their children would not return, but I have to prepare for that in the worst way," said Superintendent Nathan Barrett.
This year, combating potential dangers as a school shooter comes with a new approach one Hanover Area has never seen before in Luzerne County.
"Hiding under a table may not work; there's other options for you. These options are proven to work," said Hanover Township Assistant Chief Eric Richardson.
The protocol is called 'ALICE'. The acronym stands for Alert- Lockdown- Inform- Counter- and Evacuate.
Each classroom would decide what's right for their students based on the location of the shooter. A lockdown would work similarly to protocols of the past, such as sheltering in place and barricading in classrooms.
"Yes, you're more of a passive target during the 'L' [lockdown]. But maybe that's your only option at the time," said Richardson.
But counter- is a new component for Hanover Area's protocol. Richardson says it could help if students come face to face with the threat. He says this option works well with older high school students and may not be an option for elementary-age kids.
"If you show them that throwing a shoe, a cell phone, a stapler, or a book, everything you have in the classroom at the time, if you can distract that shooter every time, you're going to buy yourself time. That's all were trying to do, we're trying to buy time to get yourself out of that situation and wait for law enforcement to get on scene," added the assistant chief.
Another component of ALICE is to get the kids out of the school building and classrooms: Evacuate and escape to safety. According to the ALICE protocol: "At any point, if you can evacuate safely, do it! Run in a zig-zag pattern with hands over your head. Do not stop running until you are well clear of the building".
"Not having kids sitting there waiting for that threat to happen, that's what we're getting away from. Then, it minimizes any type of focus for somebody as the threat moves around the building, and there's nothing there. That's when we've been successful," said Barrett.
The Hanover Area School district has already presented this strategy to parents during an information session- and says training and drills are underway.
"You're going to be one step ahead. We're going to plan for this and we're going to take every avenue and every option that's possible for them. There's no right or wrong, that's the thing with ALICE. There's no right or wrong," said Richardson.
Working to keep our kids safe, when minutes matter most. More information may be found on the ALICE training website.