School Leadership 2.0
A Network Connecting School Leaders From Around The Globe
FATAL FLAWS IN YOUR ACTIVE SHOOTER RESPONSE
FATAL FLAWS IN YOUR ACTIVE SHOOTER RESPONSE
| 01/24/2016 | |
| SECURITY | |
Bo Mitchell |
|
The deadliest phase of an active shooter is over in the first four to eight minutes, statistically before the police can arrive and deploy. This means your teachers, employees and staff are the first responders. You’re on your own. An active shooter incident will unfold at lightning speed in terrifying conditions. As every veteran will tell you, you respond the way you’ve been trained. Untrained, you and your people will freeze or panic. Every active shooter response I review is fatally flawed because each one misses essential procedures and training for those first four to eight minutes, and beyond. |
No matter how congenial your community, every school is vulnerable to unstable students, desperate parents who’ve lost custody, jealous domestic partners, overstressed teachers, vengeful ex-employees and extremists.
You need an Active Shooter Response, you must train your people in your response, and you need to test your response to make sure it is free of the fatal flaws.
Meet the Police Before You Need Them
Ask your police department to come to your school and brief you on how they will respond to a 911 call for an active shooter. They will explain how they will respond. They may not be this blunt, but their mission will be to find and kill the shooter.
They will not stop to help the wounded, comfort the terrified, or explain to you what’s going on. Their job is to stop the shooting.
Your School is Also an Employer and Workplace
It’s your job to know what you must do to protect your people before the police arrive, and how to recover after they’re gone. As an employer, it is your legal responsibility to comply with federal law that requires employers to plan and train for a multitude of workplace emergencies, including active shooters. The police know nothing about federal standards to which you as an employer will be held. You are the responsible party for having a comprehensive and compliant emergency action plan specific to your school. Your plan must include an Active Shooter Response. You must train all personnel to your entire emergency action plan at least once a year.
JOIN SL 2.0
SUBSCRIBE TO
SCHOOL LEADERSHIP 2.0
Feedspot named School Leadership 2.0 one of the "Top 25 Educational Leadership Blogs"
"School Leadership 2.0 is the premier virtual learning community for school leaders from around the globe."
---------------------------
Our community is a subscription-based paid service ($19.95/year or only $1.99 per month for a trial membership) that will provide school leaders with outstanding resources. Learn more about membership to this service by clicking one of our links below.
Click HERE to subscribe as an individual.
Click HERE to learn about group membership (i.e., association, leadership teams)
__________________
CREATE AN EMPLOYER PROFILE AND GET JOB ALERTS AT
SCHOOLLEADERSHIPJOBS.COM
New Partnership
Mentors.net - a Professional Development Resource
Mentors.net was founded in 1995 as a professional development resource for school administrators leading new teacher induction programs. It soon evolved into a destination where both new and student teachers could reflect on their teaching experiences. Now, nearly thirty years later, Mentors.net has taken on a new direction—serving as a platform for beginning teachers, preservice educators, and
other professionals to share their insights and experiences from the early years of teaching, with a focus on integrating artificial intelligence. We invite you to contribute by sharing your experiences in the form of a journal article, story, reflection, or timely tips, especially on how you incorporate AI into your teaching
practice. Submissions may range from a 500-word personal reflection to a 2,000-word article with formal citations.
© 2026 Created by William Brennan and Michael Keany
Powered by
