Active shooter training sessions held for La. childcare providers

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The Institute for Childhood Preparedness partnered with the Louisiana Department of Education to host active shooter training sessions for early childhood professionals in Louisiana.

Trainers with the Institute for Childhood Preparedness helped these educators lock down some new emergency plans.

“For us, an active shooter is more about critical thinking, it’s about thinking about options ahead of time, practicing those options, and getting as comfortable as we can because when we’re scared or have anxiety, we fall back on what is familiar to us,” said Andrew Roszak, the executive director of The Institute for Childhood Preparedness.

In three hours, trainees were taught how to conduct drills, develop a plan and work together to ensure staff, teachers and children are best prepared.

“We do have an active shooter policy in place with our staff, but we knew it wasn’t where it needed to be so this is able to help us step up our game and get it to where it needs to be for the safety of our whole center,” said Sandra Gautreaux, a local childcare provider.

According to people at the Institute for Childhood Preparedness, the training is designed to prepare Childcare professionals, not scare them.

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