Buckeye Firearms Foundation continues to offer school faculty and administrators comprehensive training through its FASTER program, and just as Cleveland’s FOX 8 was provided exclusive access to a class offered recently in northeast Ohio, Cincinnati’s CBS affiliate (Local 12 WKRC) was given an inside look at another class offered this week in south central Ohio.

From the report:

The teachers and administrators have come from more than a dozen different Ohio counties. All the “students” already have their concealed carry licenses and the blessing of their school boards. At John Benner’s Tactical Defense Institute in Adams County, they’re learning powerful lessons about how to use guns in their schools.

The two day training is paid for by the Buckeye Firearms Association[sic], a 501 c3.

Jim Irvine from Buckeye told Local 12 News, “The first couple of years we trained teachers and they went back and asked for permission to carry now we have school boards and school administrators sending us people saying, ‘Will you please train them?’” While this is a first level class, some school districts have already progressed to second or third level’s. And the program keeps expanding. The training at TDI is about a whole lot more than just guns and shooting. Angela Armstrong is one of the instructors for the buckeye firearms association.

Just off the range, she explained, “It’s a huge responsibility to carry. Not just going through a concealed carry class you need to go get mindset training. The mindset is key, knowing how to use a firearm is one part of it.”

FASTER stands for Faculty / Administrator Safety Training & Emergency Response.

Created by concerned parents, law enforcement, and nationally-recognized safety and medical experts, FASTER is a groundbreaking, nonprofit program that gives educators practical violence response training.

The program offers a carefully-structured curriculum offering over 26 hours of hands-on training over a 3-day class that exceeds the requirements of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy.

The purpose is not to replace police and EMT, but to allow teachers, administrators, and other personnel on-site to stop school violence rapidly and render medical aid immediately.

When violence strikes and students’ lives are on the line, every second matters. Faster response is better response.

FASTER saves lives!

Those interested in FASTER (Faculty/Administrator Safety Training & Emergency Response) training still have time to apply for classes this summer! CLICK HERE NOW!

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.

Editor’s Note: Those interested in FASTER (Faculty/Administrator Safety Training & Emergency Response) training still have time to apply for classes this summer! CLICK HERE NOW!

While the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary has faded in the minds of many, Buckeye Firearms Foundation continues to provide training to ensure that it may never happen again.

Recently, the Foundation provided Cleveland’s FOX affiliate, WJW, exclusive access to a three-day FASTER (Faculty/Administrator Safety Training & Emergency Response) course, in which school employees learned to confront a potential school shooter and eliminate the threat.

From the report:

School shootings have become a disturbing reality in Northeast Ohio and beyond. Since the Sandy Hook shooting, Ohio school districts are taking new steps to keep kids safe, including intensive training for school staff to carry guns in schools.

Fox 8 News reporter Matt Wright had exclusive access to a three-day FASTER (Faculty/Administrator Safety Training & Emergency Response) course, in which school employees learned to confront a potential school shooter and eliminate the threat. Participants, including a superintendent, teachers, principals and a school bus driver, prepared for a potential school shooting situation in which every decision counts.

In the wake of the Sandy Hook massacres in Newtown, Connecticut, Buckeye Firearms Foundation announced that we would pay for a trial course for teachers and school staff to be trained by John Benner of Tactical Defense Institute. The response from media, and school employees was overwhelming. One class grew into the FASTER Saves Lives program and interest continues to grow.

In 2014, I was contacted by Kate Way who was interested in doing a documentary on the concept of armed school staff. Like media from all over the world, she wanted access to our FASTER Saves Lives classes, and the people participating in them. But she didn’t want a 3 minute story; she was working on an hour-long documentary.

At first brush, allowing a woman from the anti-gun state of Massachusetts, who had no firearms training such access, seemed ill-advised. But I also knew that it was impossible to tell the story in a typical news segment. The only reason armed staff seems controversial to some is because they don’t understand the problem, or our program. After all, everyone wants kids to be safe. So a properly done documentary would be helpful, not just to us, but to every school district and indeed every parent/family in the country.

Kate convinced me that she wanted to create a good documentary.  She made clear that it would not be a promotional piece for FASTER or our concept, but an honest look at all sides. What she lacked in firearms experience, she made up for in her work ethic and quest for knowledge and understanding.

Kate and her partner Julie Akeret have invested an enormous amount of time, effort, and I’m sure money so far. They will be back in Ohio soon as they continue their work. They have no big sponsors and now must raise money to continue.

Their press release states:

Good Guy with a Gun: The Arming of Teachers in America is a one-hour documentary film about the growing practice of arming teachers as a security measure in K-12 public schools. Since the tragic massacre in Newtown, CT in 2012, communities around the country have been scrambling to implement better security plans, and school districts in at least nine states have begun arming teachers and other school personnel. Focusing on Ohio, a traditional bellwether state, this film tells the stories of people and communities on both sides of this controversial measure.

You can view the trailer here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kateandjulie/good-guy-with-a-gun-the-arming-of-teachers-in-amer

They must raise at least $20,000 to fund the continuation of this important documentary. Click here for more information.

Jim Irvine is the Buckeye Firearms Foundation President, BFA PAC Chairman and recipient of the NRA-ILA’s 2011 “Jay M. Littlefield Volunteer of the Year Award” and the CCRKBA’s 2012 “Gun Rights Defender of the Year Award.”

Buckeye Firearms Foundation’s FasterSavesLives.org is featured in a lengthy Springfield News-Sun article exploring the topic of school safety.

The article, entitled “Some Ohio school districts have guns at the ready, ” notes that an estimated 30 Ohio school districts include guns in their security plans, and that 144 more teachers are being trained through the FASTER program this summer.

From the article:

Sidney City Schools superintendent John Scheu firmly believes the move to improve security with more weapons, while controversial, is necessary in the wake of the tragic 2012 school shooting in Connecticut.

“Sandy Hook took us to an entirely different level in terms of taking a real serious look at what we are doing system-wide in our seven buildings to provide better security for our staff and for students,” Scheu said. “We decided to be proactive instead of reactive.”

The article notes that while Sidney and many other schools are adding guns and training (at little to no cost to taxpayers), the Springfield school system has spent $1.6 million on security technology, including new door-lock systems and high-definition video cameras.

Again, from the article:

With the proper training and oversight, the move to place guns in the hands of school personnel has the full support of local law enforcement. Shelby County Sheriff John Lenhart said he was part of the planning process.

“If you would have asked me 10 or 15 years ago if we would have firearms in school and teachers that are armed, I would have said that is not going to happen,” he said. “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto. The world has changed.”

Response time to the scene of a shooting is a prime concern. According to Lenhart, every 17 seconds after the first shot is fired in a school shooting, another child dies or is seriously hurt.

In other words, in the words of Sheriff Lenhart, “faster saves lives.”

Lenhart also took the time to destroy a commonly-held myth that only the police are proficient enough with firearms to be trusted to carry them in schools.

The training for teachers and staff who have access to firearms in an emergency includes a 16-hour course developed by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. Once a month, deputies who work in the schools train as a team with the teachers who volunteered to be weapon certified.

“Ironically as it may seem, I may (regret) saying this, they (teachers) are better shots than some of my deputies,” Lenhart said. “They are very focused. They have the same passion you and I do for protecting kids.”

After including warnings from Ohio’s gun ban lobby about what a terrible idea this all is, the article concludes with information on Buckeye Firearms Foundation’s FASTER program:

The Buckeye Firearms Foundation, vocal supporters of weapons in schools, is optimistic about the growth of the number of districts putting firearms in the hands of staff. Joe Eaton, program director of the foundation’s FasterSavesLives.org, said his organization began putting together a training program for teachers within a few weeks after Sandy Hook.

Once the organization began offering the free training, it found plenty of interest.

“Since we started this in 2013 we have run over 300 Ohio teachers through it from about 50 districts throughout Ohio,” Eaton said.

Teachers from Illinois, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Kentucky also have taken part. Of the 3,000 people who applied to take part in the program, Eaton said 45 percent have their Ohio concealed handgun license and are already carrying a weapon outside of school.

Eaton said the foundation will hold firearms training this summer for six classes, with 24 teachers in each one.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.

Patrick Neville was a 15-year-old sophomore at Columbine High School in 1999. He was on his way to a fast food lunch when the shooting started. Two students, armed with guns and pipe bombs, had stormed the Colorado school, on their way to killing one teacher and 12 students — some were Neville’s friends. Neville, now a Colorado state representative, says many of Columbine’s teachers and faculty acted heroically that day. But, he says, “I truly believe that had some of them had the legal authority to be armed, more of my friends might be with me today.”

“They’re just easy targets … for a criminal, a terrorist or anyone intent on doing harm,” Neville says. “I wake up every day and send my kid to school on blind faith that she’s going to return home safe when there’s really no safeguards for our schools.”

See the entire story here: Ideastream.org

Editor’s Notes: Ohio law already allows each individual school district to decide on their own to permit armed staff. They decide who, how, when and where their staff can best protect the children they are educating. Volunteers from FASTERSavesLives.org also just completed meetings with state representatives in Pennsylvania to help them update laws in their state to allow this type of local control.

Joe Eaton
Program Director – FASTERSavesLives.org
513-267-6088

This week the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA) holds its “Are you prepared?” school facilities and safety conference in Columbus, Ohio.

FASTER Saves Lives will be on hand at booth 40 near the BASA registration desk. We will have trauma kits for review and will be discussing various ways to save lives before, during, and after an active killer event.

School safety is a topic that should be on every school administrators mind. Unfortunately, we live in more violent times than we grew up in. Schools have adapted and are better prepared to deal with peanut allergies, heart attacks and child abuse. They have EpiPens, automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) and policies to help abused children. But most schools are very lacking when it comes to a realistic plan to quickly stop violence and treat trauma injuries. FASTER Saves Lives is a total concept, designed by experts and paid for through Buckeye Firearms Foundation.

For those wanting an understanding and answers for violence, there are two sessions that should be on their “must attend” list. Both of these occur on Wednesday, March 11.

Session 1 (10:45 to 11:35) in the “Fairfield” meeting room.

The “Real” Problem Facing School Administrators in School Shootings, presented by Dr. Richard Caster.

From Columbine to Sandy Hook: What is the data showing us? Participants will clearly identify the two key factors facing administrators in protecting students. 

Session 4 (2:30 to 3:20) in the “Fairfield” meeting room.

Frontline Responders to School Violence, presented by Jeff Staggs.

The participants will learn how arming school staff can prevent and minimize the deaths of students and staff. The talk will include training and other layers of protection.

If your school has not significantly updated its plan for violence in the past two years, now is the time. Take advantage of the various people who are available to you. There are answers to your questions. There are workable plans. Your school can be as prepared for violence as it is for fire. We are here to help you.

Click here for more information about the BASA conference.

Jim Irvine is the Buckeye Firearms Foundation President, BFA PAC Chairman and recipient of the NRA-ILA’s 2011 “Jay M. Littlefield Volunteer of the Year Award” and the CCRKBA’s 2012 “Gun Rights Defender of the Year Award.”

The Ohio School Board Association (OSBA) publishes a magazine for its members on a bi-monthly basis. Inside the back cover of the latest edition school administrators will find an ad for FASTER Saves Lives, sponsored by Buckeye Firearms Foundation.

The idea for the ad came after attending the OSBA Capital Conference last November. It became apparent that most school officials have talked about school violence, but few are happy with their plans (or lack of them) to adequately deal with deadly threats in their schools.

We found school board members and superintendents eager to learn honest answers to tough questions. They were looking for factual information, but found conflicting and non-sensible answers from many of the people/entities from whom they sought knowledge. They were excited to talk to us in our booth, and we wanted a way to reach all those who we didn’t talk to during the conference.

2015 is looking to be the busiest year for all of us at FASTER Saves Lives since we started this program in late 2012.  We are currently filling summer FASTER Saves Lives classes with school staff in schools that have authorized, or have plans to authorize staff to carry. We have resources available to discuss and answer questions from school board members, staff and parent.  We are expanding the information available through our new website.  We are travelling to Pennsylvania, Colorado and other states to work with their legislature and schools.

In short we are doing everything we can to save lives in Ohio’s schools . . . are you . . . is your school?

Jim Irvine
President Buckeye Firearms Foundation

The Ohio School Board Association (OSBA) holds its annual Capital Conference in November each year. At the most recent conference, Buckeye Firearms Foundation was invited to host a breakout session on armed school staff. We also had a booth to talk to schools about safety and security and the option of armed staff.

The conference started on a safety note, as Dr. Dick Caster and John Benner hosted a presentation “To arm or not to arm” to a packed audience. A lively discussion followed with Messrs. Caster and Benner answering questions and concerns raised by audience members. It was clear that most had not authorized someone to possess firearms, but it had been talked about, and the reasons not to were being replaced by serious consideration.

Our booth was staffed by John Benner of Tactical Defense Institute, Attorney Sean Maloney, Joe Eaton and myself. Several people associated with the program at their school also volunteered time and answered questions. We debuted our new FASTER website (www.fastersaveslives.org) and brochure tailored specifically for schools. With the interest growing, we needed a better way for school decision makers to sort through the noise and find good information.

There were friends from districts that were early to authorize staff and attend training, as well as those who are firearm enthusiasts who came by because they knew we were there. But most attendees had not heard of FASTER Saves Lives, or Buckeye Firearms Foundation, and wondered what on earth a gun group was doing at an educational conference.

Benner answered questions on training and mindset. Maloney answered legal questions, and Eaton and I explained the program and general concept. School violence is a topic familiar to every administrator, but much confusion remains. People enjoyed getting straight answers on mindset, training and medical care. They knew they needed a better solution, and they were excited to have viable ideas to consider.

Most schools still do not have adequate trauma kits, though progress has been made since we called for a kit in every school. Most were impressed with the trauma kits and five lucky schools were happy to walk away with a $75.00 kit drawn from those who put their name/card in our basket. At the end of the conference, we gave away the $700.00 kit we had displayed as the grand prize.

At the end of the event, Eaton commented that we totally missed our mark. “We came here to explain to people that armed staff is a viable option. They already know that. What we needed to explain was how to do it.”

He was right. We will be back this year, with double the booth space, additional people, more trauma kits and better prepared to help make Ohio schools the safest in the country.

The Buckeye Association of School Administrators will hold their School Facilities and Safety Conference on March 11-12, 2015. Representatives from Buckeye Firearms Foundation will be attending. Dr. Dick Caster will be presenting on “The “Real” Problem Facing School Administrators in School Shootings.” There will be other speakers on this topic and we highly encourage school Superintendents to learn from the experts available to them.

Jim Irvine is the Buckeye Firearms Foundation President, BFA PAC Chairman and recipient of the NRA-ILA’s 2011 “Jay M. Littlefield Volunteer of the Year Award” and the CCRKBA’s 2012 “Gun Rights Defender of the Year Award.”

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR OHIO CONCEALED HANDGUN LICENSE
The law requires at least 8 hours (starting 3/23/15) of certified training in the following matters:

• The ability to name, explain, and demonstrate the rules for safe handling of a handgun and proper storage practices for handguns and ammunition
• The ability to demonstrate and explain how to handle ammunition in a safe manner
• The ability to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attitude necessary to shoot a handgun in a safe manner
• Gun-handling training

Additionally, you must have at least two hours of practical training, including range time and live-fire experience. The applicant also must complete an examination that tests his competency. The test must include a written section on the ability to name and explain the rules for the safe handling of a handgun and proper storage practices for handguns and ammunition. Additionally, the exam must include a physical demonstration of competency on handgun usage and rules for safe handling and storage of a handgun. It also must require a physical demonstration of the attitude necessary to shoot a handgun in a safe manner.

• Students will need a handgun and at least 100 rounds of ammunition (We have training guns if needed).
• Eye and ear protection with clothing to match weather conditions, food and beverage.
• Classes are designed to meet your specific needs.

Cost $75 ($20 goes towards training materials you will keep)
Use the ‘Contact Us’ link at the top of our website for more details.

FASTER Saves Lives was asked to participate in a panel on school safety at Lourdes University in Sylvania Ohio.  The panel was hosted by graduate students in the XXSXXX program at the University.  FASTER program director Joe Eaton was joined on the panel by the Lourdes University Safety Director, a Lucas County Sheriff deputy, a member of the Maumee Special Response Unit and lead trainer from the local police department.  The attendees were all graduate students at the university who are currently employed in the education field, the future of education in Ohio.