Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Guns are not the biggest threat to schools


This article offers six strategies that will help schools with the biggest issues we face in dealing with school safety. 

I agree with the author in stating the following: "Keeping the first law of loss prevention in mind, it is worth remembering that unpleasant experiences should not be the driver of security policies and practices."  We need to be pro-active rather than reactive in establishing our preparedness policies and practices.  This includes making sure we train our staff and students to fidelity on our established policies and practices.  It also means that we hold staff accountable to these policies and procedures and don't allow them to prop open their doors or leave exterior doors open. 

Another  tidbit of information the article provided in terms of student anxiety was quite alarming.
"The average high school kid today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 50's, " psychologist Dr. Robert A Leahy wrote in 2008 article in Psychology Today.
We all know that higher levels of anxiety and stress equate to increased levels of acting out type of behaviors.  It is imperative that we update our knowledge on school security and build relationships with students and staff that will alert us about potential problems. 

We need to be more committed to making sure that our policies and practices are followed and we meet routinely to address issues or flaws in our plans to keep our schools safe.