OUTRAGE - Middle school principal suspended over active shooter drill

A school district in Florida has acted responsibly in suspending a middle school principal who staged an "active shooter drill" on her school campus which terrified children into believing that their lives were in danger. Similar drills have come into vogue across the nation and are extremely controversial.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Jacquelyn Moore, principal at Jewett Middle Academy Magnet school in Winter Haven, Florida was suspended by her school board following an active shooter drill on her campus. Parents were outraged that their kids were terrorized after police officers went from class to class with weapons drawn, in a simulated search for a shooter.

Moore is suspended pending an internal investigation, however the parents of the school likely have grounds for a lawsuit which could land Moore in even more trouble.

Let us pray that the epidemic of school violence be stopped.

Two officers swept the campus, one armed with a pistol and the other with an AR-15, the same type of firearm used in the Sandy Hook school shooting. The pistol was reportedly loaded during the drill, according to WTSP News in Tampa Bay.

The problem with the drill is that it was unannounced and frightened the children. Parents did not know about the drill until they were told about it by their children after school.

Such drills have come into fashion as law enforcement personnel team up with school districts to stage what they refer to as "lockdown drills" on middle school campuses across the nation. Teachers, parents and kids routinely complain they are not warned in advance and they find the experience terrifying.

Businesses are also staging drills to test employee response. In Colorado, Michelle Meeker, a nursing home worker, has filed a lawsuit claiming she had to quit her job after she was taken hostage by a simulated shooter in such a drill in October 2013.

In Bakersfield, California, the Panama-Buena Vista School District has staged at least two such drills at schools in town, prompting vocal complaints from angry parents. Despite news coverage and criticism, the local police department and school district appear unfazed by the complaints and may be prepared to stage more drills.

Police say the drills give them a good indication of how teachers and students will react to an active shooter situation. However, this argument is weak. Each school shooting is unique and shooters know that schools will lock-down at the first sign of trouble, so they find ways to circumvent these protections. At Marysville Pilchuck High School in Washington, the shooter used text messages to lure his victims and shot them in the cafeteria.

Staff and student turnover also render the benefit from such drills moot from year to year as there is a continual influx of new, inexperienced students and staff. It is our position that these drills would be more effective if parents, faculty and students were warned in advance rather than terrified. While this eliminates any benefits from surprise, it would also eliminate liabilities while providing a more positive instructional environment for stakeholders.

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Parents and the community should also be involved in these drills to provide knowledge and information that will minimize panic and disorder in the event of an actual shooting.

Terrorizing children and faculty to "test" their response is dangerous and invites liability and it is inconsistent with the spirit of professional education in the United States. It is also debatable whether such drills improve safety. They certainly create liability as the staff have learned at Jewett Middle Academy.

Everybody invites police and school cooperation for the protection of children, but there is a better way to achieve this than terrifying kids.

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