EAST HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Volunteers in East Haven spent the morning assembling the latest tools to keep kids safe in school lockdown. Four hundred “Go Buckets” will go out to all the district’s schools. In fact, East Haven wants one of them in every room in every school.
It is all part of a new strategy for dealing with school lockdowns. It goes by the acronym A.L.I.C.E.
“A.L.I.C.E. is an enhanced lockdown method It stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate,” explained East Haven Police Department spokesman Captain Joseph Murgo.
We have seen many towns train police on what to do during an active shooter situation. A.L.I.C.E. puts some of the decision making in the hands of teachers. East Haven’s teachers are already going through training and drills.
“Even though we knew that it was going to be our principal and our police department conducting them, it really does scare you,” first grade Teacher Tammy Afragola said. “You know what’s happened and you think about it happening in our own building.”
Everyone has seen the pictures from the schools where it has happened. Studying tragedies like Sandy Hook has led police to change recommendations. Huddling in a corner is no longer accepted strategy. That is why the go buckets they are assembling have things like rope and duct tape in them.
“Those are all an attempt to harden the classroom,” Murgo said. “You want to make it harder for an intruder to get in.”
Other things like flashlights and playing cards are designed to keep kids safe and interested in a long lockdown. Most of the supplies were donated by Home Depot, which also sent volunteers. Afragola is a volunteer with the Rotary Club, which also had several people there, as well as a Kindergarten teacher who will have one of these buckets in her classroom.
“To know that I can grab one bucket, strategically placed in my room and go with it and have things that I can entertain the kids with, keep them safe with, it’s very comforting,” Afragola said.
Although these buckets look pretty full, police say there is still one thing missing. they would like to see a tourniquet in each one. So, they are still asking folks to donate either the tourniquets or the money to buy them.