School Safety

Over the past couple of weeks, the campus that I work at has had guns being found on students at school. Both incidents were addressed prior to incidents occurring involving the gun. In one case, students came forward and notified a teacher that they were aware of the gun, and our safety protocols went into place. In the other case, the student was found tagging off school campus, was identified by our administration, found trying to enter campus, and was found with the weapon upon searching. 

In both cases, the community was notified after the incidents occurred in an effort to remain transparent and to quell any rumors. 

Our superintendent held a town hall on campus last week, in order to answer address these issues and answer the communities questions and address their concerns. Out of this meeting a committee is being created to allow everyone to contribute ideas to ensure the safety of our school and our students. 

While the frequency of the incidents is alarming, what I found to be most reassuring was that our current policies were working.  Each of the incidents that occurred were handled without a violent incident occurring because our students have owned the motto, "if you see something, say something." The protocols we have in place for searching students and handling it with law enforcement worked. However, there is room for improvement. 

The recent shootings in Denver, CO have left an impact as well. Two unarmed administrators were shot while doing a daily search on a boy who had been expelled from another school for having a weapon. An article in the AP News talks about Denver as " one of many communities in the U.S. that decided to phase out school resource officers in the summer of 2020 amid protests over racial injustice following the killing of George Floyd by police. The shift away from an armed presence in schools followed concern that officers disproportionately arrest students of color" (Slevin, et al., 2023).  It is likely time to bring these officers back. 

I remember my school SRO being someone who was a positive presence on campus. One who knew the students and wasn't someone who was seen as just a pejorative presence there to snitch on kids. This  person was a liaison for the community.  




Comments