Salt Lake City –-(Ammoland.com)- Scholarship deadlines are fast approaching for educators wanting to participate in the FASTER Utah Program on July 9-11, 2019 scheduled at the Lee Kay Public Shooting Range in Salt Lake City. Applicants are encouraged to complete their paperwork at the FASTER Utah website at www.fasterutah.org before June 30th.
FASTER Utah aims to empower teachers with the training needed to protect and defend schools from those who wish to cause harm. FASTER stands for Faculty / Administrator Safety Training and Emergency Response and is a non-profit organization patterned after similar successful programs in other parts of the country. Through this program, Utah school teachers will soon have an opportunity to be empowered with the knowledge to defend themselves and their students in a variety of situations.
This program offers a carefully-structured curriculum offering hands-on training over three days. Extremely qualified instructors teach the course to help ensure participants retain critical life-saving knowledge under stressful conditions. FASTER training is comprehensive hero training, which includes advanced handgun skills, trauma first aid, and force on force training in real-world situations. Those who graduate will pass a Law Enforcement Qualification Shoot.
FASTER Utah’s Training is free for those employed at a K-12 school in Utah. Brant Taylor, the program coordinator, commented, “Our mission is to make scholarships for advanced handgun and trauma first aid training available to K-12 school faculty and administrators who have concealed firearms permits.” We never want money to be a limiting factor for teachers to participate in this program.”
This training is also available to others who pay the full tuition of $1000, which covers additional Utah educator scholarships. Taylor added, “We have individuals who have already paid for the multi-day class and are excited to learn the essential life-saving skills that are included in the course. This training is valued at $1500, but we are offering this at the reduced cost of $1000 to teach as many as possible.”
The FASTER Saves Lives program has been successfully training teachers for more than eight years in Ohio and will be offering the initial Utah training in July. Colorado’s program came online in 2017. Thanks to Utah gun laws, FASTER Utah has the potential to become the most effective program in the country.
To participate, applicants should already own a handgun with a substantial holster that covers the trigger guard and fits on their belt on their preferred side. Participants should also have two extra magazines and a way to carry them, along with eye and ear protection. They should have completed a concealed carry class for a Utah Concealed Carry permit to be familiar with Utah laws.
Taylor noted, “It is exciting that school districts are showing interest in FASTER Utah. One district in southeastern Utah is already making plans for their own training later this year. We try to schedule our courses to not interfere with the primary teacher obligation of educating their students. We are planning additional training during UEA weekend in October and possibly during the Christmas holiday break.
The purpose of FASTER Utah is not to replace police and EMT’s, but to help teachers and administrators stop school violence quickly and render medical aid immediately until help arrives. Taylor commented, “When violence strikes and students’ lives are on the line, every second counts. Even though police are only minutes away, already there is faster than a response. FASTER can bridge the gap until help can respond.”
“Knowledge is power and perhaps is the most cost-effective option when it comes to protecting our students.” Physical barriers can help limit certain threats but can become prohibitively expensive and further restrict the already limited funds and resources available for teachers and our educational system. Unfortunately, there is only so much that can reasonably be done to fortify our school institutions with physical barriers. The ideal scenario is a combination of education, fortification, and tools to help enable those who wish to defend and educate our most precious resources. Doing so will reduce the image of our schools being soft and easy targets to these criminals.”
Taylor remarked, “We invite all school staff with concealed firearms permits to apply for a training scholarship at www.fasterutah.org. School staff members interested in attending should take a concealed firearms class immediately if they have not done so already.” Some concealed carry classes are offered at no cost to educators. Taylor suggested contacting instructors early and ask if they provide free concealed carry classes to school staff to prepare them for FASTER Utah.
Taylor added, “We want to thank the NRA Foundation and Friends of the NRA for their generous contributions to help cover costs of ammunition, airsoft equipment and targets for training. We are seeking volunteers in every county throughout Utah. Please contact us if you are interested in helping our local heroes.”
Taylor concluded, “We believe that FASTER is the most effective and cost-effective way to harden Utah schools. Many teachers and other school staff are already legally carrying firearms in schools. Giving our educators this advanced handgun and trauma first aid training will strengthen our schools from within. Similar to the Federal Flight Deck Officer and Air Marshal programs, potential predators will think twice if we advertise that trained school personnel are on site with skills on par with law enforcement. FASTER Utah should make our schools less attractive targets to those tempted to murder school children to become infamous while committing suicide.”
About FASTER Utah
Brant Taylor and his team has been serving Utah with firearm and trauma first aid training for more than a decade. To learn more about the program, visit the website at www.fasterutah.org