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[Over past months] Americans watched as tragedies unfolded on school campuses across the nation. These events generated unsettling images and powerful emotions. The alleged sexual nature behind two of these events caused intense and disturbing personal reactions. In the midst of such crisis, America was also afforded lessons in dignity, compassion, and forgiveness to counter the ugliness of violence. As is often the case of unspeakable acts, burning questions remain.
Americans were not the only ones to observe and react to these incidents. The National School Safety Center hosted numerous calls and inquiries from around the world. Regardless of whether the calls came from concerned parents, school officials, media outlets, legislators, or the international audience, three key questions resonated above all others:
Are schools in America safe?
Do these acts of school violence represent a trend?
Could these acts have been prevented?
In response to the first two questions, the public must consider that while
on the same days that these schools experienced the unthinkable, thousands
of other schools experienced relative calm, peace, and order. On a daily basis,
the vast majority of American schools go about the mission of educating our
children in safe and welcoming environments. Schools remain among the safest
places for our children to be.
 Since the Columbine High School shooting incident and 9/11, increased vigilance
and attention to school safety have served American schools well. Many schools
have applied the lessons learned from such incidents and are engaged regularly
in the process of planning for safe schools, crisis response, and crisis recovery.
A more notable trend today is the number of schools engaged in such strategies
as:
• Establishing law enforcement and education partnerships
• Proactive problem-solving
• Relationship and rapport building
• Sharing common goals
• Training
• Engaging in drill and practice
• Conducting safety assessment
• Applying current technology to school safety issues
Following incidents such as those that have occurred in Colorado, Wisconsin,
and Pennsylvania, schools are asking the haunting question: was there anything
that could have been done to prevent such tragedies?
In retrospect, it is easy to see many things that could have been done differently.
During a crisis, educators and law enforcers face challenging situations, difficult
questions, and often a very short timeline for making life-and-death decisions.
These responders are also forced to accept the responsibility for their actions
before the court of public opinion.
School officials and communities should not be too rough on themselves because
violence remains a matter of the heart. Violence often prevails because we
cannot predict, fully control, or completely understand all the factors of
human behavior and thought that foster such violence.
Each school safety tragedy provides new insights and reminders for school
communities to rethink, revise, and assess their strategies for keeping their
schools safe. Every school community is unique. The National School Safety
Center (NSSC) recommends that schools assess their unique challenges and needs
and then develop a plan in response to those circumstances. Cookie-cutter plans,
solutions, and responses are ill-advised.
The following recommendations highlight
some of the basic lessons learned from incidents of violence in schools:
• Assess the public’s access to your school. How easy is it for
intruders to gain access to your facilities? How are vehicle and pedestrian access controlled? What non-school functions provide additional access to your site?
• Review screening policies for visitors, volunteers,
workers, and service personnel. Be aware that individuals who are “rule followers” will abide by the rules and directional signs for visitor check-in. Those who intend to do harm will circumvent screening procedures. Train school personnel regarding non-confrontational methods for approaching strangers on campus. Direct them to report all unknown persons who are in the building.
• Encourage students to report any unusual activities,
behaviors, or people that they encounter on campus. Students must be taught that they share the responsibility for their own safety and for promoting the safety of their school. Students may be the first to see something unusual that requires an immediate response. Consider the use of a student tip line that gives students an avenue to report suspicious behaviors or rumors.
• Review your official partnership agreements with
law enforcement so that crisis roles and responsibilities of educators and
law enforcers are clearly understood. School personnel must know when to lead, when to follow, and when to step aside when a crisis unfolds.
• Train members of the custodial and maintenance
staff to assume roles and responsibilities for crisis response. Maintenance personnel may be the first line of defense against a campus intruder. They should be capable of being in radio contact with the central office to report unusual or threatening circumstances.
• Provide all staff members with adequate crisis
training and support. Become aware of those staff members on campus who have medical or other skills that can be used in an emergency.
• Establish protocols and procedures for assessing
and dealing with threats at school. Establish threat assessment teams – teams of school personnel, law enforcement, and mental health professionals who are called upon to assess the validity of a specific threat or who work together in an information network to discuss as appropriate students who are experiencing unusual emotional stress or who are showing signs of trouble.
By Dr. Ronald Stephens
Dr. Ronald Stephens, Executive Director of the National School Safety Center, wrote this article in October of 2006 for the official NSSC web site, found online at www.schoolsafety.us. |
