photo by: Alan Olson
Hundreds of new students and their families filter into Wheeling Park High School for the Freshmen & New Student Tailgate event.
WHEELING — Wheeling Park High School Principal Meredith Dailer apologized Thursday night for the content of an active shooter training presentation for students on the first day of school — part of which was a violent excerpt of a movie.
Dailer posted a video on the school’s Facebook page explaining why the school gave the presentation, apologizing for the effect it had on students and describing measures the school will take in the future to keep that from happening.
Dailer said that, on the first day of school at WPHS on Tuesday, school officials instructed all students in active shooter training, as mandated by state government. One of Wheeling Park’s prevention resource officers led the training, one that Dailer said he had conducted numerous times at numerous schools and colleges.
The film excerpt shown was from the last minutes of the 2003 movie “Zero Day,” a film about two teenagers that plan and execute a mass shooting at their high school.
The film’s subject matter mirrored the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. In the excerpt, the two teens shoot students in the school’s cafeteria and library before committing suicide by shooting themselves in the library. The event is shown through the perspective of the school’s security cameras.
Dailer did not mention specifics of the presentation in the video, but did say that elements of the presentation upset students.
“The presentation itself, I understand, upset a lot of kids,” Dailer said, “and for that … I have been sick over that, the idea that something we did upset our kids. The active shooter training is not meant to do that.
“It is a fine line that we have to walk,” she continued. “It is a scary time. These shootings are happening more frequently and we need our students to take this seriously, and we want them to feel protected, we want them to feel prepared and we want them to be aware of their surroundings.
“It’s never our intention to upset and trigger kids with negative thoughts,” Dailer said. “That’s never our intention and if you know me and you know my staff, it’s the furthest thing for the truth and we’re so apologetic that any students in any of our trainings would feel that way.”
Dailer said she has had several conversations over the last few days and “better plans” are in place. She said she won’t conduct the active shooter training on the first day of school in the future. Parents, she said, will be notified in advance when sensitive conversations will be taking place. The school will use an opt-out policy for students moving forward. Also, school counselors will be ready to help if any students are upset with sensitive topics.
She also said she will be available today to talk to anyone who wants to discuss the training or the video or needs to “talk it out.”
“Again, I can’t apologize enough,” Dailer said. “I’m a mom. I never want to see my kids come home from school upset. … Please know we were dedicated to doing better in supporting our kids at Wheeling Park High School.”
