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School safety: How the threat of violence has changed our classrooms today

Posted at 3:44 PM, Nov 26, 2019
and last updated 2019-11-28 19:59:03-05

GREEN BAY (NBC 26) -- When students are dropped off at school each morning, most parents hope that their children will be safe throughout the day. The threat of violence, however, has changed our classrooms today.

According to reports, there have been multiple situations where schools in Northeast Wisconsin have had to respond to threats either to the school or incidents outside the school. Many of these situations resulted in schools having to secure their buildings or increased law enforcement at drop off and pick-up.

One of these schools was Notre Dame Academy in Green Bay. In September Notre Dame Academy and Franklin Middle School went into lockdown as police investigated a threat. Police say they were made aware of an email sent to a principal that said there would be "a shooting at Notre Dame today.” Detectives interviewed a 13-year-old boy, who police say confessed to sending the threat. Notre Dame Academy Principal Patrick Browne said the student was not from the high school.

Students at Notre Dame Academy regularly practice for threats, according to Browne. NBC 26 was there as they practiced what to do during one of its scenario-based drills. Associate Principal Greg Masarik announced that the school would be performing the drill. It's a quick practice, lasting only about five minutes.

Administration then sends out a scenario. This particular scenario was that there was a man in the business office who shot a gun. The teachers read the scenario to their class then had a discussion about the best strategy to stay safe, based on where they were in the building and where the threat was located. Teachers reply to the scenario with what the class decided was best practice. Browne, Masarik and a Green Bay Police officer went through the responses, mapping out where each class was responding from and deciding whether their plan was the best. They said they would follow up with teachers if there was a better plan.

"It's kind of sad to think that this is how our world is, that we actually have to prepare for a shooter or anybody that could be a threat to our school," said Elizabeth Rickards, a junior at Notre Dame Academy.

Rickards added that she's been doing practicing threats in school since she was in second grade.

"The threat of violence, I believe, unfortunately, in some regards, the students are almost immune to it," said Browne.

However, Rickards said the incident at the beginning of the school year made her realize an active shooter situation is a possibility.

Lieutenant Keith Gering with the Green Bay Police Department is in charge of the school resources officer program. He said school threats are taken seriously. Some students are possibly unaware of the consequences of making a threat, which he explained can result in a citation or a felony charge, not to mention consequences from the school.

"We find that these kids don't realize the fear and panic they create by posting something or saying something inappropriate," added Gering.

Rickards said training for different situations makes her feel safer knowing they have prepared.

"Somethings are not going to be exactly the situation or the simulation, but at least we have a mindset of what we can do and how we can prepare. It's really good and helpful," she added.

She also said she and her friends discuss what they would do if there ever was an active shooter in the school.

"We talk about how we would try and find each other after it all because like my best friends are here. I don't know how I would feel if they were gone, so I would definitely try and find them," said Rickards, "we also try to talk about like what we would do if they were outside our classroom like how we would try to calm each other down and always try to be there for each other."

Browne explained they follow a "run, fight, hide" program. He said he believes the students feel capable of doing more than just hiding in a locked room.

"There may be classrooms where the teacher is saying we need to hide, and you have some students that are saying, you know, I'm not sure that's the best choice, and that's the kind of thing that I think is good for students because when you have multiple people in the classroom who are all ready to respond and ready to think and ready to be engaged, then if a teacher does have a situation those students are empowered to know what they should be doing," added Browne.

Notre Dame Academy has also made significant changes to the school to ensure students and staff are safe. One of those changes is making sure doors are always locked. Browne said they remind teachers to keep doors locked at all times so it's easier to lockdown a classroom. He said they also remind students not to open doors for anyone coming into the school, even if they think they know who the person is.

"I will always walk up to adults now and say, you know, can I help you? Have you checked in with the visor management system?" said Browne.

The visitor management system is another significant change at the school. When anyone enters the school, they must first check in at the front. The visitor management system scans their drivers license or identification card and runs multiple background checks, checking things like felonies, outstanding warrants, and any history of harming children. If the background check comes back clear, the person is printed off a sticker to wear while in the school. If the person doesn't pass the background check, they're told they are not able to enter the school. Browne told us they have turned some people away since installing the system.

Browne said security in schools has changed dramatically since he first started in education, but it's part of the world we live in today.

"It's not something that bothers me personally as much anymore except that it informs my professional practice, and, so, it informs me to be more cognizant of these risks and properly prepares me to mitigate these risks," Browne added.

Students also told us they recognize the work that goes into keeping them safe in school from both administration and staff as well as law enforcement so they can continue to learn and grow without living in fear.