The Pinellas County school system has released three videos it plans to show students in the coming days in preparation for the "active assailant drills" that are to begin soon in schools.
Kindergarden through second grade:
Grades 3-5:
Middle and high school students:
The videos espouse the "run-hide-fight" strategy of dealing with attackers, which encourages running as the first option, hiding as next-best strategy and fighting the attacker as a last resort.
"Remember, we won't be scared if we are prepared," says a woman in the video designed for students in kindergarten through second grade.
The drills will be held monthly, one of many new requirements in state law that followed in the wake of the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
Luke Williams, chief of the school district's police department, said in an email Friday to all staff that the district would follow the same pattern every month: "Video, talking points, demonstration (the drill itself) and Q and A," he wrote. "The idea is to build muscle memory and help prepare students to know what to do not only at school, but in any public setting."
The videos and other information can be found on the school district’s safety and security web page.