The first time I heard this concept I was sitting in a school safety training with school police Sergeant Ray Price and Deputy Chief Jason Trevino (who were both at the time school police officers when I worked at Reed High and would drag me to every safety training they could find). The training was Bulletproof Mind presented by Ret Lt Col Dave Grossman. I was the only administrator among a room full of law enforcement officers. Grossman stated there are 3 types of people: the sheep (general mass), the wolves (the bad guys), and the sheep dogs (protectors of the sheep). Grossman explained we need more well trained sheepdogs to protect the sheep from the increased amount of wolves. He encouraged police to train harder and more frequently. He wanted them to train in pressure situations and to carry their fire arm off duty to protect the innocent.
If you think about the traits of a sheepdog, they have to be proactive, observant, well trained and able to react quickly when needed to protect the herd. I would argue all staff members in a school need to develop these skills to the best of their individual ability. It is not a some of the time mindset...it is all of the time. I am not saying we be vigilantes or police officers. We all have different roles when it comes to school safety preparedness (administrators, teachers, secretaries, counselors, custodians) but we all must be aware of the safety procedures along with taking the drills serious every time. One role may be as simple as your presence in the hallways during passing time. Awareness of our roles and responsibilities is very important. We need to know who to report to when potential risks and other issues arise. We need to establish strong relationships built on communication with our students. Having the ability to read body language is also very important. As a school we've got to study what has happened other places, ask questions, and modify our policies and procedures.
It is easy for many of us working in a school to fall into a sheep mentality, relying on one or two sheepdogs to protect us while we go about our day. That's not enough. What if the sheepdog is pulled out of the building for a meeting? If we share this same awareness collectively in our school--we will be better prepared to protect our students and less likely to "freeze up" or panic. If something were to happen, panic would inevitable set in (which is natural) but the level would be decreased because you would be prepared for what to do--keeping you focused on the tasks you have been trained to complete.
You just never know when you'll encounter a wolf, especially if they are dressed in sheep's clothing. Wolves attack the weak and stay away from resistance. If you study school shootings you will find this trend to be true. The more staff we have thinking like a sheepdog the less chance a wolf will strike our herd.
