School Superintendent says some students who participated in Active Shooter exercise were impacted emotionally. The drill occured on the first day that responders used the DTRS.
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"Obviously, we must use common sense as we conduct this review and plan future drills as to not give cause for alarm, or inject emotion that may detract from our learning environment and negatively impact our students," he wrote. "There is a fine line as to when and to what degree we should involve students in our drills.
"Although there is a teachable moment as a result of the Platte Canyon incident, it is a very emotionally vulnerable moment for staff and students. Proceed cautiously."
Bergmann said the drill last year, which involved students who volunteered for it, had adverse impacts on those taking part. He said it was an effect that administrators didn't count on. That memory of students being affected by the realism of the drill served as the rationale behind his Thursday morning plea to administrators to use good judgment in reacting to the Platte Canyon tragedy.
"We have to try to balance the emotions of the moment and use some common sense," Bergmann said. "We cannot allow our emotions to impact our learning environment.
"(The drill) wasn't real, but it felt real to them. It may have been fake, but it still impacted people emotionally. ... We learned from that."
