ALICE Recovery Ops 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Why is it important for staff to avoid discussing specific incident details with students immediately after an active threat event?
- To prevent students from filing legal complaints
- To preserve law enforcement's investigation integrity and reduce re-traumatization (Correct answer)
- To maintain administrative control over the narrative
- Because ALICE protocol prohibits all post-event communication
Correct answer: To preserve law enforcement's investigation integrity and reduce re-traumatization
Premature or graphic discussion can compromise evidence, interfere with investigations, and worsen psychological trauma for survivors.
Question 2: During recovery, a 'crisis counselor' is deployed to the reunification site. What is their primary function?
- Conducting formal psychological evaluations for legal purposes
- Providing immediate emotional support and psychological first aid (Correct answer)
- Determining which students require hospitalization
- Training staff on ALICE protocols post-event
Correct answer: Providing immediate emotional support and psychological first aid
Crisis counselors at reunification sites deliver psychological first aid—offering comfort, information, and referrals—not formal diagnosis or treatment.
Question 3: What is the recommended sequence for notifying stakeholders after an active threat incident?
- Media → Parents → Staff → Law Enforcement
- Law Enforcement → Staff → Parents → Media (Correct answer)
- Parents → Staff → Law Enforcement → Media
- Staff → Parents → Media → Law Enforcement
Correct answer: Law Enforcement → Staff → Parents → Media
Law enforcement is activated first to respond, then internal staff are informed, parents are notified of reunification procedures, and media receive coordinated official statements last.
Question 4: After a building is cleared by law enforcement, what must happen before students and staff can return to normal operations?
- A community vote approving re-entry
- A safety assessment and administrative decision, often involving mental health readiness (Correct answer)
- Automatic re-entry after 24 hours per federal regulation
- FEMA certification of the building as hazard-free
Correct answer: A safety assessment and administrative decision, often involving mental health readiness
Return-to-normal decisions require an administrative and mental health readiness review; there is no automatic timeline mandated by federal law.
Question 5: Which of the following is a sign that a student may be experiencing Acute Stress Reaction (ASR) following an incident?
- Seeking out friends and talking about the event
- Appearing unusually calm and cooperative
- Dissociation, confusion, or physical shaking (Correct answer)
- Asking questions about what happened
Correct answer: Dissociation, confusion, or physical shaking
Dissociation, confusion, and physical trembling are hallmark signs of Acute Stress Reaction and require immediate mental health attention.
Question 6: What is a 'secondary traumatic stress' risk specifically associated with school staff during recovery operations?
- Physical injury from assisting students during evacuation
- Legal liability for not following lockdown protocols
- Emotional exhaustion from supporting traumatized students while processing their own trauma (Correct answer)
- Media pressure to speak publicly about the incident
Correct answer: Emotional exhaustion from supporting traumatized students while processing their own trauma
Staff must manage their own trauma responses while caring for students, creating compounded stress known as secondary or vicarious traumatization.
Question 7: In post-incident recovery planning, what does 'phased return to instruction' mean?
- Students return to class alphabetically by last name over several days
- Academic activities are gradually reintroduced after prioritizing emotional processing and stabilization (Correct answer)
- Instruction resumes only for students whose parents sign a waiver
- Teachers phase out ALICE drills and replace them with regular lessons
Correct answer: Academic activities are gradually reintroduced after prioritizing emotional processing and stabilization
A phased return allows trauma-informed educators to reintroduce academics slowly, ensuring students feel safe before resuming full instructional demands.
ALICE Recovery Ops 3
Why is it important for staff to avoid discussing specific incident details with students immediately after an active threat event?