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#NYC schools expand active shooter training to pre-K programs

“NYC schools expand active shooter training to pre-K programs”

New York City public schools are expanding active shooter trainings to pre-K, 3-K and other early childhood programs, Department of Education officials said Wednesday.

Schools Chancellor David Banks announced the new drills for staffers taking care of the Big Apple’s learners under 5 during a press conference in Queens ahead of back-to-school on Thursday.

“It’s unfortunate that we have to be in a place where even early childhood providers — those who are working with our babies — have to receive a level of training to be prepared for the potential of an active shooter in the facility,” he said at Martin Van Buren High School.

Banks cited horrific incidents across the country — including the mass shooting at an Uvalde elementary school last spring.

“That is the reality that we are facing,” he told reporters. “We have to make sure that we’re doing everything that we can possibly do to be as ready as we can provide a level of safety for all.”

The DOE also officially unveiled new school safety measures that’ll start in the fall, which were first reported by The Post last month.

NYPD Emergency Sevice Unit officers conduct an active school drill at In-Tech Academy in the Bronx on July 30, 2022.
The Department of Education claims most schools’ alert and security systems are up to date.
Twitter/nypdspecialops
Schools Chancellor David Banks
Schools Chancellor David Banks promised parents will be aware if their children are in safe during lockdown orders.
Andrew Schwartz/SIPA/Shutterstock
Schools Chancellor David Banks also warned about students bringing weapons to campus grounds.
Schools Chancellor David Banks also warned about students bringing weapons to campus grounds.
Twitter/nypdspecialops

More safety agents will be added throughout the school year, including three new classes beginning training this month, as well as in January and May. Altogether, roughly 600 agents may be added over the term.

Families will also have access to real-time push notifications in the event of lockdowns, shelter-ins and evacuations.

“Many of you will recall what happened in Sunset Park,” said Banks, referring to the subway shooting last spring that prompted shelter-in-place orders at nearby schools. “And when that incident happened, the schools that were located near the incident were frantic. The parents of the children in those schools were frantic. And many of them had to wait to hear what was going on on the news.”

Members of the NYPD ESU and School Safety Division participate in an active shooter drill in photos posted to Twitter by the NYPD in 2015, Feb 19, 2015.
The Department of Education announced officers will be conducting active shooter drills in early elementary schools.
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David C. Banks is Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education at a press conference where he and school officials talked about the growing problem of students bringing guns to school.
Schools Chancellor David Banks emphasized more active shooter drills are needed in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting.
William Farrington

“We want to put them in a position where they don’t have to wait for the local news to know exactly what’s going on,” he added.

The messaging platform is the same technology that was introduced to replace Illuminate Education products — the company at the center of a student data breach last school year.

School facilities workers are also inspecting 1,400 buildings to ensure all safety systems are functional — from door locks to alarms and PA systems. The team identified 1,300 issues across the schools and expects all will be addressed before students return to school on Thursday.

NYPD Emergency Sevice Unit officers conduct an active school drill at In-Tech Academy in the Bronx on July 30, 2022.
NYPD Emergency Sevice Unit officers conduct an active school drill at In-Tech Academy in the Bronx on July 30, 2022.
Twitter/nypdspecialops
Three new classes of school safety agents are expected to be on patrol soon during the upcoming school year.
Three new classes of school safety agents are expected to be on patrol soon during the upcoming school year.
Twitter/nypdspecialops

Banks told reporters that officials are in “very close contact” with companies developing technology that are less intrusive but able to detect guns and other types of weapons.

“Maybe this is the year where we finally come to a place where that technology is fully developed, and we’ll be able to make that kind of investment,” he said.

The DOE has also made investments in student well-being, in hopes that students who are “fully emotionally supported” are less likely to get into trouble.

Officials pointed to a new initiative contracting with previously volunteer violence interrupters in close to 140 high-needs schools, to be announced in “coming days” — while central staffers will be reassigned to district offices to bring social workers closer to students and families.

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