08:36
Faizan
Following every school shooting on a K-12 campus, there is no shortage of advice, suggestions, or demands for change. Not all of these approaches are practical or possible; some are expensive, not feasible, and don't account for the culture of the school district and the community around it.
Many media-offered experts offer solutions that just can't be practically done at most campuses: locking down the entire facility, issuing key cards to every student, installing expensive cameras or panic alarm systems, trying to screen every visitor, asking local law enforcement to station a fulltime officer on site. So what will work to prevent these unpredictable (and rare but catastrophic) events?
It's time to go back to a calmer, common-sense response to this national discussion, using tools and ideas that may already exist or can be put into operation on campus. This requires an approach to use the critical components of school security and violence prevention: safety planning, finetuning existing policies, installing cost-effective security devices, creating District-led Threat Assessment Teams, and using real-time threat management protocols.
We can also get guidance from the 2002 "Safe School Initiative" report created by the US Secret Service: Most shooters don't warn their targets directly; they tell a third party, and many of them felt disconnected, disaffected, depressed, and vengeful. It takes a team to run our schools and districts; it will take a team to respond to the school violence issue. Consider these must-haves for our K-12 schools:
1. Hire more school counselors (trained in threat assessment and response).
The ratio of counselors-per-student is painfully low. They are pulled in many directions and don't always get to speak to as many students as they would like who are in crisis. Besides increasing their numbers state by state, they need to be fully trained in the best practices for threat assessment and violence risk assessment.
2. Parental involvement (in school security and behavioral concerns).
The D.A.R.E. drug abuse and violence prevention program uses a triangle model, asking for the support of the schools, police, and parents. The parents are sometimes the least supportive and that helps the concept fail. Every campus should have updated contact information for the parents or guardians for every student. They need to be brought in to discuss what they are seeing at home with high-risk students.
3. Gun safety education (for kids, and urging that parents use trigger locks and safes).
Campus shooters often get their guns by stealing them from their families. Many people still believe their children won't find their guns, so carefully hidden in dressers, nightstands, under beds, and in closets. We need a national campaign to secure every gun in every home. We need to use grant or federal funding, and even trigger lock giveaways or low-cost gun safes, provided by gun manufacturers.
Many media-offered experts offer solutions that just can't be practically done at most campuses: locking down the entire facility, issuing key cards to every student, installing expensive cameras or panic alarm systems, trying to screen every visitor, asking local law enforcement to station a fulltime officer on site. So what will work to prevent these unpredictable (and rare but catastrophic) events?
It's time to go back to a calmer, common-sense response to this national discussion, using tools and ideas that may already exist or can be put into operation on campus. This requires an approach to use the critical components of school security and violence prevention: safety planning, finetuning existing policies, installing cost-effective security devices, creating District-led Threat Assessment Teams, and using real-time threat management protocols.
We can also get guidance from the 2002 "Safe School Initiative" report created by the US Secret Service: Most shooters don't warn their targets directly; they tell a third party, and many of them felt disconnected, disaffected, depressed, and vengeful. It takes a team to run our schools and districts; it will take a team to respond to the school violence issue. Consider these must-haves for our K-12 schools:
1. Hire more school counselors (trained in threat assessment and response).
The ratio of counselors-per-student is painfully low. They are pulled in many directions and don't always get to speak to as many students as they would like who are in crisis. Besides increasing their numbers state by state, they need to be fully trained in the best practices for threat assessment and violence risk assessment.
2. Parental involvement (in school security and behavioral concerns).
The D.A.R.E. drug abuse and violence prevention program uses a triangle model, asking for the support of the schools, police, and parents. The parents are sometimes the least supportive and that helps the concept fail. Every campus should have updated contact information for the parents or guardians for every student. They need to be brought in to discuss what they are seeing at home with high-risk students.
3. Gun safety education (for kids, and urging that parents use trigger locks and safes).
Campus shooters often get their guns by stealing them from their families. Many people still believe their children won't find their guns, so carefully hidden in dressers, nightstands, under beds, and in closets. We need a national campaign to secure every gun in every home. We need to use grant or federal funding, and even trigger lock giveaways or low-cost gun safes, provided by gun manufacturers.
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