Not Scared. Prepared

Not Scared. Prepared
'Gansett looking to implement the ALICE model
Eryn Dion
News Staff Writer

TEMPLETON  The Narragansett School District, following many schools across the region, will soon implement the ALICE defense model to help keep students and faculty safe in the event of an intruder.

ALICE, which stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate, is a set of training and procedures developed after the Sandy Hook school shooting almost three years ago. School Resource Officer Brian Rosengren said the program will be first introduced in the elementary schools and that district staff has already been trained on the new protocol.

On April 29, Mr. Rosengren will host two programs introducing parents to ALICE and familiarizing them with it for when their students come home with questions.

“There isn’t going to be any misconceptions and they’ll have an idea of what we’re going to be talking about,” Mr. Rosengren told members of the School Committee.

At that meeting, there will also be site-specific brochures available for parents, detailing how the program will be carried out in each school.

“After that meeting, the program will be implemented in the beginning of May,” said Mr. Rosengren. “I’m very, very confident we’ll be able to have at least one drill this year.”

To bring the program to students, Mr. Rosengren will visit each classroom and read the book, “I’m Not Scared, I’m Prepared,” to help broach the sensitive subject matter on a level young children can understand and process.

“It has all the different examples on how to bring it up to them so they aren’t scared,” he said.

Rather than keeping those lessons strictly in the classroom, Mr. Rosengren said that copies of the book have already been purchased for every student in the district and will be available on request.

“It would be ideal to have them at home so the parents can reread and it could become a continual conversation,” said committee chairwoman Rae-Ann Trifilo.

The April 29 meetings will be held at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the middle school auditorium, with both parents and students welcome. Mr. Rosengren, along with Templeton Police Chief Michael Bennett and Phillipston Police Chief Kenneth Dodge, will be on hand to answer questions and provide additional information.