Winnipeg students, staff taking precautions in wake of Uvalde shooting

While Tuesday’s elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas has many on this side of the border on edge, a local educator wants parents and families to know Winnipeg schools are safe places.

Pembina Trail School Division Superintendent Ted Fransen told CTV Morning Live Winnipeg while students and staff are trained for the unlikely event of an intruder, it is done strategically and mindfully.

“It is our responsibility as teachers to minimize the kind of stress and anxiety that students have, and so we do this carefully,” he said.

According to Fransen, schools across the province are required to do intruder training twice a year. Fransen noted his division uses the ALICE training model – which stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate.

Winnipeg Police Service gives training to educational staff, and then students are trained by teachers in an age-appropriate manner.

“Students who are in Kindergarten and Grade 1 are going to learn the ropes, if you will, differently than a student in Grade 10 or 11,” he said.

Fransen noted because active intruder situations are so rare in Canadian schools, the more significant concern is managing kids’ fears and anxiety. Guidance counsellors, psychologists or social workers are on hand to help with training.

While the rash of shootings in the United States remains troubling, Fransen wants parents and caregivers to send their kids to school with peace of mind.

“The message I want you to take away and your viewers to take away from this morning is that when you send your kids to school, you're sending them to a safe and caring school,” he said.

- With files from CTV’s Nicole Dubé