$15M facility aiming to keep kids safe in schools

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) - With mass shootings on the rise, the city of Jonesboro wants to make sure its officers are prepared, and that starts with the classroom.

K12 Protection Solutions plans to establish its first Regional Training Center and build a 40,000-square-foot facility in the city by 2023, teaching officers how to deal with a school shooting.

The $15-million project is believed to be the first of its kind in the U.S. and will include state-of-the-art technology.

CEO Michael Stern described the new facility as “a school inside of a school,” adding it’s a place for officers to learn lifesaving skills in a more realistic situation.

“We are looking to bring a different kind of training experience to the true first responders,” he said. “We are talking about school security personnel, nontactical law enforcement that are really the first on the scene during an active shooting at a school.”

K12′s instructors include former Navy SEALS and other former military personnel, as they knew Jonesboro was the right place to start this project.

“We’ve been just amazed by the outpouring of support from the city, from the police department and the local community in bringing a project like this into the city,” Stern said.

On Wednesday, Dec. 7, it was an introduction to what the training will be like, as Jonesboro police officers learned different shooting techniques vital to their everyday operations.

“Since these SROs are our front lines of defense for the schools, we want them to receive some of the first-class world training this company offers,” said Police Chief Rick Elliot.

Elliot explained said it is always beneficial to hear from an outside group, adding there can never be enough training when there are lives on the line.

K12 hopes to break ground on the facility in Spring 2023.

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