In preparation for the upcoming school year, 73 armed guardians participated in a back-to-school training program at Keiser University Pembroke Pines on Thursday, using a training simulator to practice responding to extreme scenarios.
In a dark classroom, two armed guardians held guns that pointed a laser onto a projected screen in front of them. With over a thousand different scenarios, the guardians navigated videotaped active shooter calls, having to communicate with a partner and quickly make “shoot or don’t shoot” decisions, according to Kevin Nosowicz, Broward County Public Schools Police Chief.
After each scenario, Detective Carl Schlosser discussed the approach the guardians took in their response and then the correct ways each scenario should be handled.
“We told him to drop the weapon. He didn’t, so I eliminated the target,” armed guardian Shalon Jackson said, explaining his response to address one shooter scenario.
With the sixth-largest school district in the country, Broward County uses “more guardians than anyone else in the state,” Nosowicz said. “And the program’s only gotten stronger.”
Led by the Broward Schools Police, the training included instruction in firearms use, tactics and de-escalation, with the goal of providing safety to Broward County schools. The simulation training is in addition to the annual training the guardians receive two weeks before the start of the school year.
“Law enforcement — it’s always changing. The more training you get, the better off you’re going to be,” Robert Ung, a retired law enforcement officer with over 20 years of experience, said.
The guardian program was created in 2018 in the wake of the Parkland shooting. Before that, only sworn law enforcement officers were allowed to carry guns on school campuses, but the state Legislature passed a law requiring every school to have at least one armed officer per school, and guardians were an option.
The school district considered phasing out the guardian program last school year and creating a full-fledged police department, but the School Board rejected that. They could be used at more schools as cities like Pembroke Pines say they can’t afford to provide police at the current rate the district pays.
The armed guardians are the men and women in bright yellow shirts equipped with the necessary skills to act as the first line of defense in the school district’s efforts to protect students and staff. They are veterans, former law enforcement officers and former security personnel.
“I saw this as an opportunity to protect people. To protect the children and protect the future of our country,” Dwayne Jiles, a veteran who spent 20 years in the Army Military Police, said. “That’s really important to me, because I also have children and for them I would want someone that’s willing to sacrifice themselves for others.”
In a partnership with Keiser University, Broward Schools Police used the new Multiple Interactive Learning Objective Range simulator for Thursday’s training. The MILO system, a simulation learning tool, is designed for critical incident training, de-escalation tactics, decision support training, traditional tactical judgment training, and firearms proficiency training.
Jiles, who will be going into his seventh year as a guardian and has children of his own, has seen first-hand how the guardians benefit the school system.
“The kids, they come to you, they rely on you,” Jiles said. “They let you know if anything is going on.”
