In the News: ICP Featured in HBO’s New Documentary Thoughts & Prayers
- Institute Staff
- a few seconds ago
- 5 min read
In August 2023, the Institute for Childhood Preparedness began working with filmmakers Zackary Canepari and Jessica Dimmock on a documentary exploring active shooter preparedness in the United States. We granted their team unprecedented access to our active shooter, de-escalation, and situational awareness training sessions—allowing them to observe how we approach this critical and sensitive topic in early childhood environments.
After months of coordination, interviews, filming, and behind-the-scenes conversations, we finally saw the finished product. In November 2025, HBO released Thoughts & Prayers: How to Survive an Active Shooter in America, a sobering look at how schools and communities across the country are attempting to prepare for the unthinkable.
Rather than focusing on politics, the documentary turns the camera toward a growing multi-billion-dollar “active shooter preparedness” industry—drills, simulations, bullet-resistant products, and specialized training—and asks a crucial question: Is this really how we want children to grow up?
The result is powerful, unsettling, and at times deeply difficult to watch.
The Institute for Childhood Preparedness (ICP) was invited to participate in the film because of our work at the intersection of:
Early childhood education
Emergency preparedness
Trauma-informed practice
From the beginning, we were clear with the filmmakers: our approach is not typical of what many people think of when they hear “active shooter training.”
We agreed to be filmed for two reasons:
To show that a calmer, child-centered, developmentally appropriate approach exists.
To model what training can look like when the goal is to empower adults rather than traumatize anyone.
A Longstanding Stance: No Simulated Gunfire, No Unannounced Drills
Long before the HBO cameras showed up, ICP took a very clear public position on this issue.
We have seen—and loudly condemned—training programs that use:
Simulated gunfire and realistic weapons
Masked intruders or “surprise” actors in the building
Unannounced drills that leave staff and children believing a real attack is underway
These practices have been repeatedly criticized by national teacher unions, school psychologists, school resource officer associations, and safety experts for causing unnecessary trauma and potentially putting people in danger.
In 2019, I wrote an open letter warning about the dangers of these tactics, emphasizing that:
“These important educational sessions should leave individuals trained, not traumatized.”
That remains our position today.
At the Institute for Childhood Preparedness:
We do not use simulated gunfire.
We do not use masked intruders.
We do not conduct unannounced drills.
Our training sessions are conducted in a calm, safe, and comfortable environment, where participants are encouraged to think, ask questions, and problem-solve—not freeze in fear.
Designed for Early Childhood From Day One
ICP was founded in 2018 with a very specific purpose: to provide emergency preparedness training built from the ground up for early childhood environments.
We are not a K–12 training program that “dropped down” into preschool. We are not a tactical or law-enforcement program that happens to also train child care centers.
Our work is:
Child-centered
Trauma-informed
Developmentally appropriate
Grounded in real-world emergency response experience
Since 2018, we’ve:
Trained programs in all 50 states
Worked with providers across U.S. territories and overseas military installations
Served thousands of early childhood programs, including Head Start and Early Head Start, center-based and family child care, faith-based programs, CCR&Rs, and state agencies
In 2025, we were honored to receive the Evergreen Award for Best Emergency Preparedness Training for Early Childhood in the United States, reinforcing what our partners already know: this is our lane, and we take it seriously.
Why This Is Deeply Personal
Professionally, I’m a former firefighter/paramedic, an attorney, and a public health emergency preparedness leader.
Personally, I’m a dad.
I am the father of two young daughters—Rachel (4½) and Evelyn, who turns two on November 28, 2025. When we talk about training adults for active threats in early childhood settings, I’m not thinking about an abstract “student population.” I’m thinking about children like my own.
That’s why delivering this training in a developmentally appropriate, emotionally safe way is non-negotiable for me. Children deserve to feel protected, not frightened. Adults deserve training that prepares them, not overwhelms them or leaves them carrying more trauma.
Our program was intentionally designed with that in mind. We built this training with guidance and insight from:
Sesame Street
The Walt Disney Company
Psychologists and child development experts
Trauma and mental health specialists
We did this because getting it right truly matters—for the children, for their families, and for the educators who carry these responsibilities every day.
From my years as a paramedic, one guiding principle has always stayed with me: do no harm. That commitment to safety, care, and thoughtful action is woven into everything we teach.
Two Documentaries, One Message
The HBO film is actually the second documentary to feature our work.
The first was produced in Belgium, where school shootings are not a reality. That film examined how the United States prepares schools and child care programs for emergencies and active threats—a kind of “outside looking in” exploration of a uniquely American problem.
In both films, our message is consistent:
Preparedness should be about empowerment and clarity, not shock or spectacle.
Safety planning must be age-appropriate and trauma-aware, especially in early childhood settings.
Prevention, communication, and layered safety are just as important as response.
We are proud that, even in a documentary that highlights some of the more extreme or commercialized sides of the industry, our segment reflects a calm, thoughtful, educator-centered approach.
Not All Training Is the Same: What We Urge Programs to Consider
If you’re a director, teacher, parent, or leader in early childhood, you may be feeling overwhelmed by the options—and by the pressure to “do something” about active threats.
Here are a few questions we encourage you to ask when evaluating any training provider:
How do you ensure your training is trauma-informed and developmentally appropriate?
Do you use simulated gunfire, surprise drills, or role-players that staff or children may perceive as real intruders?
Is your program designed specifically for early childhood, or adapted from K–12, corporate, or tactical training?
Do you address prevention, communication, and culture of safety—or only “what to do if an intruder is in the building”?
If any of the answers make you uneasy, listen to that feeling. You have every right to protect your staff, children, and families from training that does more harm than good.
Our Commitment, Going Forward
Being included in Thoughts & Prayers has already sparked new conversations with partners across the country. Some are asking how to move away from harmful drill practices. Others are looking for guidance on how to build a more thoughtful, preventative, and layered approach to safety.
Our message remains the same:
We are here to help you prepare, not panic.
We will never use fear as a teaching tool.
We will always put the safety and emotional well-being of children and educators first.
If you’d like to learn more about our philosophy and approach, you can:
Read my letter on unannounced drills and simulated gunfire
Explore our resources at childhoodpreparedness.org
Reach out to our team to talk about training, site assessments, or planning support
Not all training is the same. Please be mindful of who you train with and how these sensitive topics are approached.
And if you ever need a partner committed to doing this work the right way—we’re here.
Click here to request a training.
Stay safe,
Andy