The problem

In the wake of school shootings in the United States—the most recent being the May 2022 Uvalde, Texas shooting, which killed 19 students and two teachers—parents and educators are apprehensive about what this school year might hold. 

These tragedies inevitably beg the question, how do we keep our schools safe?

Each time, like clockwork, the politicized discourse arises from both the left and the right. Those conversations usually meet their demise in congressional gridlock, but how can we take real-life, practical steps to ensure the well-being of our students and teachers?

Further complicating the problem, school violence could be worsening the current teacher exodus. According to one survey by District Administration, nearly half of the teachers polled said they had recently contemplated transferring schools or quitting because of their safety concerns. 

Thoughts from a former teacher

As school shooting headlines break more frequently, well-being takes center stage in educators' minds. Emily Petersen is a former teacher with experience in public and charter schools in Maryland and Florida. She is now the Education Solutions Manager for Strategos Group. 

“Whenever I heard about school shootings, I would often reassess the safety of my classroom, school building, and surrounding area,” says Petersen. “Of course, it’s something that seems to be incredibly rare but hits close to home as I have worked in schools for years. I wanted to make sure that I knew what to do if an event ever occurred on my school campus.”

Underscoring the complexity of the school safety issue, Petersen highlighted a security issue arising in places like Florida that are experiencing unprecedented migration. The student population is rapidly growing, forcing schools to house the hundreds of new students they register in vulnerable portable buildings. 

Petersen says, “If a chain-link fence only secures a school campus itself, the chances of anyone climbing it and getting access to portable buildings is high. The risks that arise on a campus that is not secure can be significant. I think that school districts need first to reevaluate how to handle the influx of students to better support the safety of campus growth.”

A former legislator and education commissioner speaks out

Jim Horne is a former State Senator in Florida and the former Florida Commissioner of Education, serving during Governor Jeb Bush’s administration. He regularly interacts with state and district leaders through his current work as a partner at Strategos Group. 

“Safety and security are the number one topics of discussion among education leaders, with maybe the exception of teacher shortages at the moment. It doesn’t matter if it’s at a national education conference or a small meeting with a group of parents,” says Horne. “Around the water cooler or the boardroom, everyone from superintendents to teachers to bus drivers and the community at large wants to know if their children are safe at school. It’s their most basic concern.”

During a time when school districts are experiencing a worsening teacher shortage, the fear of sitting vulnerable in a classroom doesn’t encourage loyalty to the profession. It also doesn’t inspire student success or parents’ confidence in the system. 

“You cannot expect teachers to teach and students to learn if they do not feel safe and secure,” adds Horne. “Forty or fifty years ago, a parent’s biggest worry was that their child might get into a fight. But today, they worry about whether they might be killed at school by a disgruntled and angry classmate.”

Horne is hopeful the renewed vigor of parents' efforts on school security will awaken leaders. 

“I believe we are seeing a new heightened level of parental engagement that we have never seen before,” he says. “They want to know what their local education leaders are doing about school safety and security. They are showing up to school board meetings and asking hard questions. Great leaders should not dismiss them, but instead, work with them to be part of the solution.”

Solutions

One company called National Safety Shelters is partnering with school districts, offering what could be a practical safety solution. The company provides safety pods—bullet and tornado-proof shelters for classroom installation.

In Colorado, Durango’s school district 9-R is installing vestibules—large, secured entryways where students and faculty can take shelter during times of crisis. While this could be a promising development, the vestibules are only valuable if the doors are locked, so district leaders, administrators, and teachers need to hold each other accountable once the protocols are outlined. 

While measures in Durango, CO, and National Safety Shelters provide some promising options, former educator Petersen welcomes additional common-sense steps toward more robust school security. 

“Schools with secure buildings that encourage one single entrance and exit point seemingly are safer,” she says. “This enables the front office to monitor who is on campus and gives them the opportunity to notify law enforcement quickly if an emergency arises.”

Petersen echoes what many parents are calling for—police in the buildings.

“I am a huge supporter of having law enforcement officers on the school campus, walking the building itself. I can’t imagine any other way to challenge a gun-wielding intruder than with another gun,” she says.

Adding to ‌solutions, some security experts propose similar efforts to U.S. counter-terrorism measures for schools. During an interview with SecurityInfoWatch.com following the Uvalde, Texas shooting, Mario Savvides, Ph.D., a Robotics Professor of Artificial Intelligence and the Electrical Computer Engineering Director at Carnegie Mellon University, offers a strong parallel.

“We have yet to acknowledge and clearly state: the senseless murder of Americans going about their daily lives should be addressed with the same focused and coordinated determination that our national security enterprise exhibits in preventing transnational and domestic terrorist attacks on the homeland.” 

Savvides continues, emphasizing the high stakes, “It’s been ten years since the carnage at Sandy Hook elementary school. Sadly, a decade later, mass shootings have increased exponentially. We have reached a point where this epidemic needs to be addressed as a significant risk to the homeland.”