Parents Hear About New School Safety Training

Northborough and Southborough students will learn new options -- besides lockdown -- for responding to a shooter in their school.

The district will teach students the ALICE program -- Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate -- Assistant School Superintendent Christine Johnson said during a Safe School Readiness Community Forum held Monday night in the Algonquin Regional High School auditorium. 

Parents will be notified before the student training starts, Johnson said.

Wilmington Police Lt. Scott Sencabaugh discussed the ALICE training during the forum, including showing brief videos of classes using it.

Sencabaugh stressed that the training provides options.

"There's nothing that I am going to tell you tonight that's going to be a mandate," he said.

The ALICE training encourages students and teachers to use items at hand -- belts and chairs, for example -- to block their classroom door if a shooter approaches, he said.

"If we make it easy for them (shooters) -- they can just walk in the room -- that's what they're going to do," Sencabaugh said.

"Counter" measures, meanwhile, include throwing objects at the shooter, who will instinctively flinch in response, he said.

Evacuate is another option.

ALICE teaches students and staff, "don't run in a straight line" away from a shooter, Sencabaugh said.

Northborough Police Chief Mark Leahy, Southborough Police Chief Jane Moran and School Superintendent Charles Gobron also spoke during Monday night's forum, which lasted more than two hours.