Frisco teachers work with police to get 'active threat' training

FRISCO, Texas -- The Frisco Independent School District is working with Frisco Police to get school staff trained on active threats. This training has always been offered by police, but in the past, it mostly entailed powerpoint presentations.

The Frisco Police Department told WFAA that it received so much feedback from educators wanting something more "hands-on." Officers with the department met with staff at Fowler Middle School on Wednesday to train staff using nerf guns and foam rounds. "This training mimics the way we have learned to teach our students nowadays: Engaged active learning," said Kim Smolka, an eighth grade teacher at Fowler Middle School.

Police officers went through a series of simulated scenarios where staff was unaware of when and where the threat would be coming from. In one lesson, staff was asked to duck and hide in place when the mock shooter came to the classroom. The trainers were hoping to prove the point that this is not an effective way of reacting to the threat. "The only wrong thing to do is do nothing at all," said Lt. Mike Hagan of Frisco Police.

Some training Frisco police asked that we not document for safety reasons. Staff was trained and then tasked with barricading the classroom door. Hagan told WFAA that the front door is most often the first line of defense.

To create a scenario, the simulated gunfire the trainers clapped together blocks of wood. "You kinda stop and pause...what was that? Trying to distinguish what are we doing in this very moment," said Dyan Mughal, an eighth-grade teacher.

There are also simulations that happened in the open in a crowded lively hallway when a threat is least expected. It is in these high stress moments that we learn something about ourselves -- the decision to fight or flight. "We want to get them ramped up a little bit. We want to get their blood pressure high," said Hagan.

In the final setting, the staff was inside a large room and the threat was not easily identifiable. The trainers say the staff reacted admirably. The mock shooter was pegged with two shoes, nearly hit with chairs, and ultimately physically taken down by staff. Hagan says the "wolfpack mentality" kicks in. Once one person attempts to physically take down a threat, more people will begin to give aid. "If it saves an extra kid or a teacher, they can beat up on us all day long," said Hagan.

Police said attacking is a last resort but maybe a necessary one. The district says this training is just one method to keeping its schools safe. There is no arguing whether it's effective. The overwhelming response from staff after the training was positive. "We were completely caught off guard. But in the end in a very good way," said Mughal.

It is a new kind of training for Frisco in a new world of school safety. Ultimately all 7,500 staff at Frisco ISD will get this training. The police department will be training staff in small groups over the course of the year.

Frisco ISD provided the following statement on other measures that have been taken to improve safety on campus:

"Frisco ISD is making a significant investment next school year in new personnel to relieve counselors and allow them to focus more on students’ mental health needs. This includes 38 additional campus instructional support facilitators, who will take over testing and Section 504 responsibilities at the elementary and middle school level. FISD will also expand the number of student assistance coordinators to provide one for every one high school and two middle schools. Student assistance coordinators provide individual, group and crisis counseling and connect families and staff to helpful resources, among other responsibilities. A total of $1.625 million will also be set aside to provide additional staff to support safety, security and counseling intervention as FISD identifies the best ways to enhance current practices.

In addition, FISD is launching a new mobile app called STOP!T. STOP!T is an anonymous reporting and incident management system that students or other members of the school community can use to anonymously report concerns, such as bullying or safety threats. It will replace an older system/past practices, which weren’t as robust in terms of features and options for two-way communication. Staff will discuss the app and how students can use it during classroom meetings the first few weeks of school. Here is a video about STOP!T.

Some high school campuses will pilot a program that will require students to wear ID badges while at school and school-sponsored events on campus. Those changes will be communicated to the students and parents at those schools.

Frisco ISD is also purchasing hand-held magnetometers (metal detectors) and will implement a few other changes behind the scenes to further enhance security. A potential future bond program may also include funding to retrofit interior classroom glass to be bullet resistant and add campus emergency lockdown technology."