Great Falls schools conduct district-wide ‘armed intruder training’

GREAT FALLS — To enhance school security, all campuses in the Great Falls Public School District (GFPS) were closed on Friday, November 1, 2024, for a comprehensive armed intruder training program. This training, a collaboration between GFPS and the Great Falls Police Department (GFPD), has been held annually for the past ten years.

“Armed intruder training” in Great Falls schools

Detective Sergeant Katie Cunningham of GFPD explained: “Today we conducted a district-wide armed intruder training. This is a program we have been offering for ten years.”

The training, which attended 1,250 employees at 20 locations, focused on equipping teachers and staff with the skills to respond to the threat of an active shooter.

The full-day training condensed the typical six-hour program into three hours, enabling all GFPS employees to complete the program in one day. Campuses, playgrounds and facilities were closed from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and only authorized personnel were allowed on site.

The aim of the training was to equip staff with practical skills, including: in securing classrooms and providing medical assistance in emergencies.

Cunningham noted that the sessions included “some lectures on the why of this training and why we need it,” as well as hands-on scenarios in which participants learned barricading techniques, secondary locking methods and basic medical interventions such as applying a chest seal and rapid clots for gunshot wounds.

Participants participated in simulated scenarios at Great Falls High School, and staff experienced four different emergency situations.

The training included exposure to the sounds of various calibers of gunfire to help staff identify and respond to potential threats.

“Weapons of different calibers – what it would sound like, how you might not hear it at all – and how you might address it to your class,” Cunningham described.

James Rolin

The training was intended to enable employees to make quick decisions in high-stress situations, providing guidance on when to barricade, flee or, as a last resort, defend themselves.

“It’s a really emotional moment for a lot of teachers,” Cunningham said. “They understand that they are being given permission to keep their students and themselves safe and alive.”

The district plans to continue offering these critical training sessions to ensure a safe learning environment for students and staff.