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A.L.I.C.E. Training for GMG staff By Margaret Thomsen

Tama county Sheriff's Department Deputies Rod Drummer, Bruce Rhodes and Brian Randall are pictured during the A.L.I.C.E. Training at GMG High School.

GMG Community School District joined a growing number of schools across Iowa in implementing training for the staff if an intruder were to enter the GMG buildings. The training is called A.L.I.C.E. Which is the acronym for Alert, Lock-down, Inform, Counter and Evacuate. The Tama County Sheriff’s Department Officers provided the training. Officers present were Bruce Rhodes, Brian Randall and Rod Drummer. They identified three national response counter strategies of fight, flight or freeze (lock-down in a secure place). Officer Rhodes stated, “School shooters all commit to die. That is the end of the story. A ton of things can happen in five minutes. You have to think for yourself.” The Columbine School shooting video was shown. The students at Columbine were told to hide. We learned even more from the Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook incidents. The number one goal is Evacuate! Staff was told to keep the plan simple. Lock down is a good starting point. The top of the list is to get out. The staff then received a hands on training in actual classrooms. High School Principal Mark Polich, said, “The students will be informed of emergency practices.”