MARSHALL, Ill. (WTWO/WAWV)– Teachers at Marshall Community Schools underwent training classes on Tuesday on how to use trauma first aid kits that will be placed in all the districts classrooms going forward.
Superintendent Kevin Ross said it’s something he hopes never has to be used, but he thought it was a necessary precaution.
“You have to prepare for the worst, and hope that some of these things that we put in are never ever used,” he said. “Safety of the kids comes first and foremost, above everything else that we do, and we are just trying to put in as many layers as possible.”
The school district worked with Red Warrior Tactical, who provided the kits. Co-owner Amy Riley said she developed the equipment early this year working alongside Clark County Sheriff Bill Brown, who wanted something for officers to have in their patrol cars.
Riley, who has a background giving trauma-informed care and led the classes, said she has three kids in the school system, and thinks it’s important staff and faculty are prepared.
“It’s very important to have the precautions in place. It’s better to be proactive instead of reactive,” she said. “If you have the equipment that you need, you feel safer, you’re trained, that way you’re more aware of what could happen, which is sad to say.”
Riley said she first met with the school district over the summer, shortly after a Uvalde, Texas left 21 students and teachers dead.
Ross referenced that tragedy, as well as a school shooting in St. Louis that killed two people on Monday, as reasons for the kits.
“I think through our school board, through our staff, through the community, we have these conversations pretty constantly,” he said. “There’s definitely a concern out there because you continue to see more and more of your school shootings, these crisis situations happening. You see them getting closer and closer.”
Teachers are completing the trainings in small groups over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday. The class lasts approximately 45 minutes, and deals with the basics of how to use the equipment, like applying a tourniquet.
Riley said she had a mix of emotions while leading the classes.
“It is relief to help teachers know more about it, but it also makes me sad that they have to know these things,” she said. “They’re here to teach our children and keep them safe. I feel like we’re putting a lot on the teachers and I appreciate them very much.”
Ross said the school has about 120 kits in total, and all staff will receive the training.
As important as he thinks it is, he hopes it’s something that will never have to be put to use.
“Hopefully this is something that gets put in a file drawer and never comes out,” he said.
