Securing our schools: the need for safety in the classroom

SECURING OUR SCHOOLS: The Need for Safety in the Classroom 250 YEARS OF VIOLENCE IN OUR SCHOOLS: A TRAGIC TIMELINE 1764 1891 July 26, near Greencastle, Pennsylvania: Four Lenape American Indians entered the April 9, Newburgh, New York: The first known mass shooting in the U.S. where students were shot, schoolhouse and shot and then scalped schoolmaster Enoch Brown and nine or 10 children. when 70-year-old James Foster fired a shotgun at a group of 1966 students in the playground of St. Mary's Parochial School. August 1, Austin, Texas: Charles Whitman opened fire from the clock tower at the University of Texas killing 16 people and wounding 31. 1998 March 24, Jonesboro, Arkansas: Four students and one teacher killed, 10 others wounded outside 1999 as Westside Middle School emptied during a false fire alarm. April 20, Littleton, Colorado: 14 students (including shooters) and one teacher 2006 killed, 27 others wounded at Columbine October 3, Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania: 32-year-old Carl High School in the nation's deadliest school shooting. Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, had plotted for a year to kill Charles Roberts IV entered the at least 500 and blow up their school. one-room West Nickel Mines Amish School and shot 10 schoolgirls, and 2007 then himself. 2012 April 16, Blacksburg, Virginia: A December 14, Newtown, Connecticut: 23-year-old Virginia Tech student, Cho Seung-Hui, killed two students in a 26 people-20 students and six dorm, then 30 more two hours later in a adults-were shot and killed at the classroom building. His suicide brought Sandy Hook Elementary School by 20-year-old Adam Lanza. the death toll to 33, making the shooting rampage the most deadly in U.S. history. "This was like our 9/11 for school teachers." -said by a teacher in Florida to the Associated Press in response to the Sandy Hook shootings. THE COLD, HARD FACTS Since 1980, 297 people have been killed in 137 fatal school shootings. Elementary schools saw the fewest shootings (17). FEF High schools saw the most shootings (62). LESSONS LEARNED, STEPS TAKEN Oufter the Columbine shootings: 1. Some schools across the 2. Kindergarden students. country turned themselves. into near-fortresses. huddled beneath desks in a lockdown drilI. Such drills have become common. 3. Some schools installed metal detectors and security cameras, banned backpacks, required students to carry IDs and posted police in the hallways-all in the name of keeping students safe. 4. In time, experts realized the first and best line of defense is always a well-trained, highly alert staff and student body. 5. The No.1 way we find out about weapons in schools is not from a piece of equipment but from a kid who comes forward and reports it to an adult that he or she trusts. FACT: FACT: A 2008 Secret Service report found that in more than 80 percent of instances of school violence, at least one Allocations for the Department of Education's Safe and Drug-Free Schools program were cut by a third between 1999 and 2008, person, usually a fellow student or peer, had knowledge of the attackers' plans. to about $294.8 million. And a program that has put about 6,300 police officers in public schools since Columbine was scrapped by the U.S. Department of Justice after 2005. |After the Virginia Tech Massacre: schools-16 of which have specifically banned guns from any yot at 38 states banned students from carrying or using weapons in part of a college campus. school. EBay stopped allowing the sale of firearm parts and ammunition on the popular site after it was learned that the shooter had purchased 10-round magazines for his gun on the site. Schools in the US as well as abroad made changes to their own school safety policies and procedures in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings. geho! Changes to then Federal Gun Laws were made and loopholes. that allowed the shooter, who was deemed mentally unstable, to purchase a gun were closed. Now someone with a known history of mental illness like Seung-Hui Cho are not allowed to. purchase guns or ammunition. After the Sandy Hook Massacre: → Since January, 2013, about 4,500 people across the country have been trained in. mental health first aid for children. → Districts are looking at how to harden the infrastructure of their schools. → Some districts trained teachers and school staff to carry guns in case of a school shooter. Schools need counselors, psychologists and officers to build relationships with kids, because they are the best line of defense. Besides shoring up windows, schools around the country installed new locks on classroom doors over the summer. → Administrators realized every school should have a crisis team to evaluate security measures and plans regularly. continued.. → Some schools are building single, prominent entrances and reducing landscaping to eliminate hiding places. Restrooms are being moved away from entrances. Simpler, keyless entry systems on doors make it less tempting to prop them open. Announcement systems are being installed that allow police to address a shooter without being heard in every classroom. The NRA suggests having armed police officers in the halls. Some schools have. invested in a high-tech system called Security Alert for Education (SAFE). Teachers wear a pendant that amplifies their voice during lectures-but also has a panic button that allows them to alert 911 during an emergency. Cameras mounted in classrooms are integrated into the system. MAJOR COMPONENTS FOR CREATING A SAFE SCHOOL CLIMATE Assessing the school's emotional climate Emphasizing the importance of listening in schools Adopting a strong, but caring stance against the code of silence Preventing all forms of bullying, including cyber-bullying Involving the school community in planning, creating, and sustaining a culture of safety and respect Helping each student to develop a trusting relationship with at least one adult at school Identifying violent children and interacting proactively with them Recognizing that adolescent mood swings and behavior changes might be due to substance abuse rather than hormones or stress BROUGHT TO YOU BY securitydegreehub.com. Sources http://southernoklahoma.com/schoolshootings/ http://www.npr.org/2013/09/10/221008581/ after-newtown-tragedy-some-schools-are-all-but-bulletproof http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/map_of_the_week/2012/12/ sandy_hook_a_chart_of_all_196_fatal_school_shootings_since_1980_map.html http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/15/us/connecticut-school-safety/index.html http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/12/15/ school-shootings-timeline-history/1771271/ http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/ Sandy-Hook-Tragedy-School-Security-183826061.html http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/us/ nra-solution-to-school-violence-armed-guards-in-the-halls-667317/ http://www.schoolsecurityblog.com/tag/school-safety-trends/ http://www.districtadministration.com/article/security-trends LLLLLkkkL LLLLLkkkL LLL LLL LLLLLkkkLL LLLLLkkLLL