CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — According to an article in CNN this year, 83 school shootings have occurred across the U.S. 27 were on college campuses, and 56 were on K-12 schools — with the most recent taking place in Wisconsin.
Students at West Oso Independent School District have taken action to prepare themselves for life-threatening situations. As part of a program designed to teach critical emergency skills, dozens of students recently became certified in the ‘Stop the Bleed’ program.
Westside Neighborhood News Reporter Naidy Escobar spoke with one of the students about the importance of being ready for any life-threatening situation.
“It’s a scary situation, and the reality of it is that it could happen to anybody. It could be here, it could be at the junior high,” West Oso High School senior Jessica Salinas said.
Salinas was one of the 77 students who earned a certification through the "Stop the Bleed" program, a program that aims at teaching people how to provide immediate assistance during a medical emergency, such as a shooting or any accident.
The program includes hands-on training with specialized kits that simulate real-life blood loss and emergencies.
The students learned how to properly apply pressure, use tourniquets, and stop bleeding. The program is part of a broader safety initiative designed to give students and staff the tools they need to act quickly in life-threatening situations.
RJ Alvarado, Executive Director of Safety and Student Services for West Oso ISD, emphasized the importance of this training.
“We know that school shootings take place across the United States and across the world. We want our students to take ownership, and our staff to take ownership of the world that we now live in. It bothers us that we must train this way. However, this is the world we live in,” she said.
Alvarado highlighted the significance of ensuring the safety of the district's 1,700 students and 300 staff members. While the training is focused on preparing for school emergencies, the skills learned extend beyond the classroom.
“It’s something that if a school shooting were to happen here, they would be prepared," Chelsea Lovell, a teacher and certified instructor for the program, explained. "But once these kids graduate and they go into the real world—if they see a car accident, if something happens in a carpentry accident, whatever it may be—all of those tools still get to be utilized.”
Salinas agreed, adding that the skills learned are valuable not only for helping others but for self-preservation in emergencies.
“It’s important to know what to do because you can’t always have an ambulance there immediately, you can’t always have police. So it’s important that you know how to help somebody, pull over, stop, and say, ‘Hey, do you need help? Are you OK? Do you need me to get you out of the road?’,” she said.
The training also focuses on how to help yourself in emergency situations.
“If something happens to you, and there’s no one around, you don’t have a phone, or something happens, you can always help yourself first, so that way you could make sure your okay and maybe even save a life,” Salinas said.
West Oso ISD aims to continue expanding this life-saving initiative, with plans to train and certify at least 100 students each semester in the "Stop the Bleed" program.
As the need for these programs grows, West Oso ISD remains committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of both students and staff, preparing them for any situation that may arise.
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