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YOU CAN MAKE A CHANGE
For The Future 

Of U.S. Grade Schools TODAY

- "Collaboration is critical to maintaining school safety. Schools are the center of most communities, and students and families do better when relevant resources and services are coordinated". (6)

 

- "Establishing ongoing, trusting relationships reduces gaps in services; limits confusion and wasted resources; improves emergency planning, preparedness, and response; supports family engagement; and improves student outcomes". (6)

 

+ "Students’ safety and well-being are improved by coordination and integration of programs and activities provided by schools, mental health agencies, law enforcement, and juvenile justice systems". (11)

BREAKTHROUGHS IN RETHINKING SCHOOL SAFETY

Situation with Arapahoe High

 

 

      The New Sandy Hook School

 

 

 

     On December 22, 2013 a shooting of a young girl occured at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado. After the shooting the Littleton School District decided to take action but needed to figure out, "how to keep kids safe without compromising an atmosphere conducive to education"(12). Ken Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services, took into account when developing a security plan that, "Most parents and most educators do not want their children in a fortress mentality" (12). Arapahoe High School ended up focusing on, "The first and best line of defense is a well-trained, highly alert staff and student body" (12). The district's security protocols were ranked seventh-best in the country by Security magazine in November as a result of their efforts. The district has included implementing a mass-notification system, regular drills and various active-shooter programs with local law enforcement. All new and conductive approaches to security in schools. 

     At the Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14th, 20 children were massacred. This is nothing any elementary school should ever experience. Coming out of this horrible tragedy the school decided to redesign its security. Their goal was to alleviate fear in the school community through security, not create it. The school therefore decided that their surveillance systems in school buildings needed to be as unobtrusive as possible. They did so to create a climate that wasn't counterproductive to learning. The school's new design to be finished in 2016 will have, "acoustic detection systems, technology developed for the military to identify gunfire" (13). Their objective is to, "prepare the school but not to scare the children" (13). 

Re-Evaluate Hardware

- There is no clear research evidence that the use of metal detectors, security cameras, or guards in schools are effective in preventing school violence. "In fact, research has shown that their presence negatively impacts students’ perceptions of safety and even increases fear among some students. In addition, studies suggest that restrictive school security measures have the potential to harm school learning environments". (4)

 

- "Research has found security strategies', such as the use of security guards and metal detectors, 'to be consistently ineffective in protecting students and to be associated with more incidents of school crime and disruption and higher levels of disorder in schools". (8, 9, 10)

 

+ A new approach to school security measures could be to have school staff earn the trust and cooperation of students when they use relationship building to prevent discipline problems. "Research supports this approach to discipline, whereby adolescents’ perceptions of school staff as trustworthy authority figures foster cooperative behaviors and minimize defiant ones".(5)

 

REASONS TO SUPPORT

Re-Evaluate Support

- "Supporting students’ mental health can lead to improvements in behavior, school climate, adult–student relationships, and academic success, all of which contribute to overall school safety. Children and youth spend six or more hours per day in school, making schools an ideal setting to provide access to mental health services. It is critical that students have access to well-trained professionals, caring adults, and support services that can help to facilitate and build upon existing school–family relationships. Schools can play a critical role in supporting students’ mental wellness, positive behavior, and resilience by ensuring access to mental health supports". (6)

 

+ "Research has shown that school mental health services are integral to student success because mental health directly affects the development and learning of children and adolescents". (7)

 

Schools, families, and communities must partner together to create safe, supportive schools. 

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