SAN DIEGO, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 02/12/13 -- Albert Einstein Academies (AEA), the first public charter schools in San Diego with a K-8 International Baccalaureate continuum, is partnering with Response Options, a critical incident response training company, to prepare all 80 staff from the elementary and middle school for emergency situations with the A.L.i.C.E. (Alert, Lockdown, inform, Counter, Evacuate) active shooter response training program. A.L.i.C.E. has already been implemented in 18 states and 330 K-16 institutions nationwide, and reached nearly two million students.

When: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Where: AEA campus Multipurpose Room, 3035 Ash Street, San Diego, CA 92102

"At the leadership level, we often discuss ways to better train our staff to handle emergency situations that will likely be chaotic, involve fear or the threat of violence," said David Sciarretta, principal at Albert Einstein Academy Charter Middle School (AEACMS). "Our objective with the A.L.i.C.E. training is to empower our personnel so we can be prepared, stay safe and not allow ourselves or the students in our care to become victims."

"At Response Options, our mission is simple, to train as many people in the A.L.i.C.E. strategies as possible and save lives. We are grateful for the opportunity to train with and prepare the staff at Albert Einstein Academies," said Marianne Alvarez, director of training and development at Response Options. "The training will include interactive classroom lecture and discussion on existing and best practices in regards to Violent Intruder Defense at AEA. This will be followed by live scenario drills to ensure mental preparedness."

"In addition to maintaining our certification in A.L.i.C.E. training on an annual basis through a follow-up online module, we also plan to incorporate this program into all new staff member training at Albert Einstein Academies," said Jeannette Vaughn, principal at Albert Einstein Academy Charter Elementary School.

About Albert Einstein Academy Charter Middle School (AEACMS)
AEACMS is a tuition-free public charter school with an academically rigorous international environment that embraces multicultural perspectives through transformative service to humanity. Einstein Middle emphasizes foreign language learning (German and Spanish), and focuses its curriculum on critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and service to others to prepare students to thrive and serve in a dynamic global future. AEACMS has an API score of 866, the highest of any charter middle school and the highest in the Metro San Diego area. For more information visit www.aeacms.org or follow us on Twitter at @einsteinmiddle.

About A.L.i.C.E.
The A.L.i.C.E. program was developed in 2000 when Lisa Crane, a school principal, and her husband, Greg Crane, a police officer and SWAT member, recognized that in the event of an active shooter, students, staff and administrators were not safe given the constraints of a traditional stand-alone lockdown protocol. The A.L.i.C.E. active shooter response training program is designed to prepare individuals to perform complicated fine-motor tasks while under severe stress or in the event of a violent intruder. For more information visit the founding organization, Response Options at www.responseoptions.com.