School Safety

School safety is defined as school and school-related activities where students are kept safe from violence, bullying and harassment, and the influence of substance abuse.  School safety has become a popular topic lately, ever since school shootings became common following the shooting at Columbine High School in 1999. Therefore, it has become important for schools to recognize the importance of school safety to help prevent further tragedies. Safe schools promote the protection of all students from violence, including exposure to weapons and threats or bombs, as well as bullying and harassment. School safety measures help support students' emotional and physical wellbeing and health, which in turn leads to better academic achievement. One study by the Safe Supportive Learning website analyzes how schools where students feel more unsafe because of fear of harassment, bullying, violence, or gangs, have lower reading achievement scores than schools where students report feeling more safe. Some resources to support school safety include "The Sandy Hook Promise," which helps educate people about the warning signs of school shooters, such as social isolation or behavioral shifts, and this policy also helps educate school administrators and community members about how to report these concerns. Another example of a policy designed to support school safety is from the National Association of School Psychologists, and it is called the Framework for Safe and Successful Schools. This policy provides evidence-based recommendations for improving school safety. The goal of these resources is to decrease the chance of school shootings happening, as well as all kinds of school related violence.

Police help make sure schools are safe from violence

School safety is an important topic to me because I have always felt personally emotionally impacted by every school shooting I have heard about. I remember when I heard about the Sandy Hook Shooting in 2012, and I was devastated. I remember crying and feeling so horrible for all of the children and families affected. Then, I heard about the school shooting at the Stoneman Douglas High School, and then the Ulvade Elementary School shooting this past year. Even hearing about the children killed so brutally, and how devastated their parents were, traumatized me. This also scared me because I realized that I will be an elementary school teacher one day, and it is possible that I could be faced with situations where a school shooter comes into my classroom. I remember when I was in 1st grade, a man punched a hole in the front door of our school, and got into the school with a gun. My music teacher, Mr. Mott, tackled the man and the police quickly came and arrested him. I remember how scary this situation was, and I want to know how to best support my students when I teach one day. I want to become knowledgeable about practices and measures that teachers can do to protect their students if a school shooter were to break into the class. I also want to help my future students to feel as safe as they can in my class, and ensure them that if something ever happened, I would do everything I can to keep them safe.