Arkansas School District Arms Teachers Because Hiding and Locking the Doors Is Not a PlanKimberly Paxton more than 20 teachers, administrators and other school employees in this town will carry concealed weapons throughout the school day, making use of a little-known Arkansas law that allows licensed, armed security guards on campus. After undergoing 53 hours of training, Dougan and other teachers at the school will be considered guards.(source) Staff members will receive 53 hours of training that is geared towards responding to school shooter scenarios from Nighthawk Custom Training Academy, a private training facility in northwest Arkansas. That teacher is going to respond to one thing and one thing alone, and thats someone is in the building either actively or attempting to kill people, explained Jon Hodoway, director of training for Nighthawk. The decision to arm teachers has not made everyone happy. One mother, Sherry Wommack, is removing her son from the school. I think police officers are trained to make those [life and death] decisions, not teachers. There are other vocal opponents to the decision. State officials are not blocking Clarksvilles plan, but Arkansas Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell is opposed to the idea of arming teachers and staff. He prefers to hire law enforcement officers as school resource officers. There are other dissenters, too. Donna Morey, former president of the Arkansas Education Association, called the idea of arming teachers awful. The risk of a student accidentally getting shot or obtaining a gun outweighs any benefits, she said. We just think educators should be in the business of educating students, not carrying a weapon, Morey said. (source) In recent years, schools have responded to school shootings like the ones in Columbine and Sandy Hook with various kinds of safety and lockdown drills. Not everyone agrees that this is an acceptable plan, and that is why this Arkansas school district decided to arm members of their staff. Many parents would agree with what Superintendent David Hopkins said when explaining the decision. The plan weve been given in the past is Well, lock your doors, turn off your lights and hope for the best. Thats not a plan. In the horrible event of a shooter at your childs school, would you feel better if your child was crouching under a desk or being protected by trained, armed staff members? Kimberly Paxton, a staff writer for the Daily Sheeple, where this article first appeared,is based out of upstate New York. linkwithin_text=Related Articles: 