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Teachers, staff receive intruder training at Northwest schools

Friday, the entire staff in the Northwest School District participated in active shooter training.

JEFFERSON COUNTY — It's back-to-school time for many districts in the area and while teachers and staff are preparing for a new school year, they’re also learning new ways to keep kids safe.

Friday, the entire staff in the Northwest School District participated in active shooter training. They practiced real life scenarios of danger while learning how to keep themselves and the students safe.

Preparing for a new school year means new and exciting times for everyone involved.

Elizabeth Nix said this school year is extra exciting for her because she recently started a new position at House Springs Elementary, and while preparing for her new role she’s also learning new ways to think quick on her feet.

"I have two children one just went over to the valley so she’s in seventh grade and then I have a fourth grader here. I feel much more empowered now knowing what I can do to help protect myself and the kids in this school," Nix said.

Nix was part of training where around 800 staff members in the Northwest School District were trained on how to deal with intruder situations.

During the training, each staff member practiced scenarios on how to respond if there is an active shooter. St. Louis County police officer Tucker Schnerre said the skills they taught is something everyone should learn.

"The staff who’s on scene at these schools are going to be the first responders there going to be the one dealing with these incidents until police officers can arrive," Schnerre said.

And Nix said she plans to use the skills she learned to any situation it applies to.

"If a situation does approach you have back up in your brain to let you know what to do next because It’s not always just at school it could be at any gathering. It’s happened at a church, and its happened at a cinema where everybody was at the movie theater so the skills that they taught us today we can take to anywhere," Nix said.

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