CARTHAGE — Van, Huntington and Carthage ISD's are on the list of schools nationwide that currently act under the 'Guardian Program', which allows for select faculty and teachers to secretly carry concealed handguns on campus.
Superintendent Don Dunn says the decision for Van ISD came following the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, with the hopes of filling any time gaps between the start of a shooting and police arriving on scene. While there are potential risks of having guns on campus, more districts are seeking input from schools that already have the policy in place.
" I started in education 40 years ago,” says Carthage ISD Superintendent Glenn Hambrick. “The thought of having to arm staff never even crossed my mind."
But for nearly half of his tenure as superintendent of Carthage ISD, the district has served as one of the first in Texas to arm its teachers.
"We looked at all of the incidents that happened. Most of the time, these tragedies happened within 3-5 minutes. Even if you have your own police force, if they're not on the campus at the time, it still takes time for them to respond. So, we were looking at how do we protect our kids in that interim."
Superintendent Hambrick says the decision wasn't simple. It involved a year and a half of research and surveying of faculty and the community.
"We got the results back, and we have over 80% of both of those who were in favor of implementing the program."
In the spring of 2014, Carthage ISD implemented the ‘Guardian Program’, just one year after Van ISD.
“Most of these people who are selected as guardians have handled weapons for a long period of time,” says Hambrick. “Some of them have been in the military. So, this is not new to them."
Superintendent Hambrick says the decision to arm teachers was a "deterrent" measure.
"An intruder or someone looking to do harm to our students or school would have second thoughts, because they know they'd be confronted with an armed guardian."
Since approving the program, he says Carthage ISD hasn’t received any reported threats or gun-related incidents in the district.
However, he says, in recent months following school shootings across the nation, he has received only positive feedback.
"Most of them [community members] know how extensive our training is,” Hambrick says. “They know that we work with the city police. I believe that they have a comfort level."
Other school districts have reached out to Carthage ISD requesting input on the ‘Guardian Program’.
Superintendent Hambrick notes, "the program is not necessarily for everyone.” He says, “each school district should look at their own situation, their own community and see if this program is right for them."