City Times Staff

Students might get to sleep late on Friday, but school teachers throughout Portage County will still be on the clock.

In partnership with United Way of Portage County, Portage County Health and Human Services and Ministry Medical, teachers will participate in a professional development day. The presentations will focus on mental health and safety of children.

Educators from the Stevens Point metro area will be joined by those from Rosholt, Tomorrow River and Almond-Bancroft School districts for the event at SentryWorld.

Speakers for the event include psychologist Dr. Eric Hartwig, administrator of pupil services for the Marathon County Children with Disabilities Education Board, and Portage Co. Deputy Megan Nowinsky.

Nowinsky will present on the alternative to Code React response, which had been the standard response protocol for an active shooter scenario for decades. ALiCE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) training is to prepare individuals to handle the threat of an active shooter.

School district administrators in Portage County have all received training from ALiCE instructors in an attempt to have one county-wide protocol for an active shooter situation.