New Guardians Will ‘Run Into Danger’ to Protect Schools

Michael Robinson was a law enforcement officer in Connecticut when a gunman killed 26 people — including 20 children between the ages of 6 and 7 — at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.

Now, it’s his job to make sure nothing like that happens in Charlotte County.

Robinson is one of Charlotte County Public Schools’ 23 new Guardians — civilian employees, most with law enforcement or military backgrounds, who patrol campuses to protect students and staff from violence.

“Our ultimate goal is to provide an environment where our teachers only have to worry about teaching and our students only have to worry about learning,” Robinson said, “where we, as professionals, can handle the rest and keep them smiling. ”

The Charlotte County School Board voted to launch a Guardian program last year, with training provided by the Charlotte County Sheriff ’s Office. The initial class of Guardians graduated this past summer and went to work when classes resumed in August.

Guardians Graduate Training with Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office. COURTESY PHOTO

The program is overseen at the district level by Joe King, a retired Punta Gorda Police Department lieutenant who is now the district’s coordinator for security and emergency management.

“It’s basically arming civilians to protect children,” King said.

Guardians are the only school employees authorized to carry weapons. Their duties are different from a school resource officer, which most campuses already have. While an SRO is a sworn law enforcement officer who can make arrests and issue trespass notices, a Guardian’s only purpose is to prevent or respond to a violent situation.

Wearing bright-red shirts and tactical vests emblazoned with the word “security” in white letters, it’s hard not to notice them. And that’s the point.

Armed and obvious

“In their daily duties, they’re going to build relationships with kids, they’re going to get tips from kids, but their sole purpose is: be out and visible, be a deterrent, be on the perimeter, be out there in the morning, in the afternoon,” King said. “So, just like a police officer parks his car out front as a deterrent, we’re putting our Guardians, dressed in red, out front telling the world, ‘Hey, we’re here, we’re armed, and our purpose is to protect the students and staff on this campus.’ So that’s their primary focus.”

Charlotte County Public Schools recently honored its 23 new Guardians at a School Board meeting GARRY OVERBEY / FLORIDA WEEKLY

At a recent Charlotte County School Board meeting, Superintendent Mark Vianello recognized the Guardians during a special presentation and gave each one a challenge coin.

“The safety of our students is our highest priority, and the addition of these trained Guardians enhances our campus security,” Vianello said in a statement. “We are grateful for our partnership with the Charlotte County Sheriff ’s Office and their commitment to this vital program. Together, we ensure our schools remain safe environments where students can focus on their education without fear.”

Under the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, the state established the Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis and Coach Scott Beigel Guardian Program in 2018. Named for three school employees who died while trying to protect students from a gunman who killed 17 people in Parkland, the program was founded on the belief that having armed personnel on campus was the most effective way to immediately respond to a school shooting.

Wearing the signature red vest of a Charlotte County Guardian, retired law enforcement officer Michael Robinson discusses the positive response they have gotten from students and staff since the school year began. GARRY OVERBEY / FLORIDA WEEKLY

Currently, 53 of Florida’s 67 school districts are participating in the program, according to the Florida Department of Education. Funding is provided to local sheriff ’s offices to screen and train potential Guardians.

The process of becoming a Guardian is rigorous. In addition to passing a psychological exam and a drug test, the 23 Guardians had to complete 144 hours of training conducted by the CCSO over three weeks during the summer. This included 12 hours of de-escalation training and 132 hours of firearm safety and proficiency training.

Joe King, coordinator of security and emergency management for Charlotte County Public Schools, discusses the Guardian program. GARRY OVERBEY / FLORIDA WEEKLY

According to state statute, the firearm training had to include

80 hours of instruction that required 85% proficiency to pass.

The rest of the training involved 16 hours of precision pistol training, eight hours of discretionary shooting involving simulators, 16 hours of active shooter and assailant scenarios, eight hours of defensive tactics, and four hours of instruction in legal issues.

“The program that Sheriff (Bill) Prummell and his staff put on was incredible,” Robinson said. “The way the state of Florida has handled this and established a great program for training gave us all an opportunity to realize that we’re hitting the schools with a level of comfort, that we’re ready for anything that may come our way.”

In addition to ongoing firearm training, Guardians are subject to weapon inspections, requalification tests and random drug tests throughout the year.

“The worst-case scenario is you have to use your weapon in a school setting,” King said. “So (the Sheriff ’s Office does) a very good job of preparing them to do so.”

“I commend these individuals for their dedication to not only the training, but to the overall mission of protecting the youth of Charlotte County,” Sheriff Bill Prummell said in a statement. “It is no easy thing to consciously decide to put the lives of others before your own, but that is what these people have done. It should be applauded, though I pray that their new skills are never needed in our schools.”

Critical response

Critics of the program have said having armed school staff only raises the threat of gun violence. But, while King admits that “putting people with guns on school campuses is scary to some,” the Guardians have seen an overwhelmingly positive response from students and parents.

“The first week of school, the kids were incredible,” Robinson said. “You had kids fist-bumping the Guardians and saying, ‘Thank you.’ You had moms hugging us. You had dads shaking our hands, saying, ‘Thank you for your service; thank you for what you do.’ There’s nothing more important than when you walk down these halls and you see a teacher who smiles at you and says, ‘Thank you.’”

The threat of violence has become an everyday reality for today’s students. So far, in 2024, there have been 28 school shootings in the United States, resulting in 12 deaths and 45 injuries, according to an analysis by Education Week.

There have been 210 school shootings nationwide since 2018.

The most recent fatal incident occurred on Sept. 4, when two students and two teachers were killed, and nine others were injured, when a student opened fire at a high school near Winder, Georgia.

“In today’s age, we’ve been dealing with incident after incident,” King said. “And our state is unique, as we all have come together — every district, every sheriff ’s office, the (state) Office of Safe Schools — and are always looking for ways to improve the safety and security of our campuses. And the Guardian Program is just an additional step to provide that safety and security.”

State law requires school districts to run students through active assailant drills each year.

“We spend a lot of time in these schools getting these kids prepared,” Robinson said. “The staff prepares them very well. It’s almost becoming a daily norm for them that they’re ready, and we just pray to God we never have to enter that realm of handling a situation.”

The district currently has two Guardians at each high school and one at each middle and elementary school. King said he’d like to add two more for a total of 25, but the district will likely wait for the summer to train new recruits in coordination with the CCSO.

The state updated the law to allow districts in need of Guardians to send them to another county for training, but Charlotte officials don’t want to do that.

“We are big fans of Charlotte County in our partnership, and that’s who we’re working with,” King said. “We would really like to keep our Guardians trained by Charlotte.”

Robinson wants to assure the community that the school district and local law enforcement agencies are committed to maintaining a high standard for the program.

“We’re asking (Guardians) to run into the danger while others are running away from it,” he said. “So, we want to take it seriously and make sure we have the right people in the right spots.” ¦

The post New Guardians Will ‘Run Into Danger’ to Protect Schools first appeared on Charlotte County Florida Weekly .