Connally ISD Police Chief Shanna Sanders hopes and prays that her colleagues will never be in an active shooter situation. She also works tirelessly to ensure that they know the appropriate plan of action in the event that they are.
Teachers and staff members across the district worked with the CISD Police Department on August 3 and 4 to conduct their annual active shooter and threat response training. The drills were conducted in tandem with STOP THE BLEED educational sessions led by district nurse Pam White.
“It is imperative that our staff is given the opportunity to train the skills that they need to keep their students and themselves safe,” Sanders said. “Regular practice helps our faculty gain confidence in the protocol of how to respond to a crisis situation.”
The training began with a short presentation that gave an overview of current recommendations on how to respond to an active shooter situation. The lecture also covered the different warning signs that educators can look for in order to intervene when a student might be struggling.
“The presentation was very informative,” sixth grade math teacher Michelle Enders said. “She showed us different statistics about different shootings throughout the nation and explained the lessons that were learned from them and how they changed safety protocol. It was really enlightening.”
Campuses were closed to the public throughout the training sessions. Every employee on the campus (including food service staff, custodians, and substitute teachers) participated in simulations in which they had to lock down their classroom in a quick period of time.
“It is important that every single employee knows how to respond to a threatening situation,” high school secretary Patricia Padron said. “Everyone thinks that they know how they’ll react in times of chaos, but until you’ve practiced under something close to the real conditions, you don’t really know.”
During the exercises, a starter pistol was used to simulate the sound of gunfire in the building. In one drill, staff members were challenged to identify how long it would take for them to hear gunfire on campus and then react appropriately.
“I appreciate that Chief Sanders went to such far lengths to train us under realistic circumstances,” high school photography teacher Kimberly Young said. “It was scary, sure, but I feel like I left really understanding what to do.”
In the wake of increased violence in schools across the nation, Connally ISD has taken multiple steps to ensure and maintain the safety of students and staff.
“We have always gone above and beyond the minimum safety requirements listed by the Texas School Safety Center,” Superintendent Jill Bottelberghe said. “Every exterior door in the district requires ID badge access, we have metal detectors on our secondary campuses, and there is a licensed security guard in every building. We are dedicated to keeping our schools safe, but unoppressive.”
The district continues to work to polish and perfect its safety protocol to best serve the community. As the school year gets started, Chief Sanders remains committed to establishing strong relationships with the students so that they know that they are safe.
“I got into school-based law enforcement to help students and show them that they are loved unconditionally, no matter what happens,” Sanders said. “I feel very strongly that the entire staff of Connally ISD - not just the officers in the police department - have an obligation to be fully prepared to respond to a crisis situation to the best of their ability using the tools that they learn in these seminars. I will continue to strive to learn all that I can to keep our employees informed on the best practices.”