Secrets To Keeping Learners And Staff Safe While At School Campuses That You Can Do Right Now

Secrets To Keeping Learners And Staff Safe While At School Campuses That You Can Do Right Now
By Edward Robinson

 
Important Media Links:

According to the Washington Post article, "A loud, new voice after the latest school shooting: Kids wanting to know why adults hadn’t done more", By Elise Viebeck  February 15, 2018 "As the shooting began, the teenagers captured the sound of gunfire on their phones. When it didn’t stop, they texted their parents and took to social media to share each fearful moment with the outside world."

These students recorded what was happening, and communicated with loved ones, via their smartphones.
According to www.thisisinsider.com, A heroic math teacher saved her students during the Florida shooting by covering the classroom windows and refusing to let even the SWAT team in, By Talia Lakritz, February 16, 2018: the teacher, Shanthi Viswanathan, used what she had in her classroom, and training that she may have received to protect the students that were in her realm of responsibility. Excellent job! Here is a quote from Talia Lakritz' article:
"

Amid all of the tragic news, there are heroes.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School math teacher Shanthi Viswanathan told her students to hide in a corner during the February 14 shooting.
She covered the classroom window with paper and locked the door.
According to a parent of one of her students, she refused to let even the SWAT team in, saying "Knock it down or open it with a key. I'm not opening the door."
Her heroic actions saved her students' lives." (Talia Lakritz, 2018)

According to The View on ABC over Twitter, some are questioning the authenticity of the students trying to change the safety equation at their schools: https://twitter.com/TheView/status/966352938913341440

According to National Public Radio podcast piece by Doreen McCallister,

Threats Against Schools Increase Since Florida Shooting, dated February 22, 2018, school campuses are continuing to be a potentially dangerous place.

By Edward Robinson

According to NPR.com More school shootings than usual after the Florida shooting
on February 14, 2018. It is important for educators and administrators in schools to be prepared.
Often when I worked as a Teacher we performed a variety of drills:

Fire drills
Evacuations
Shelter In Place

to name a few. Being able to utilize what we have already learned, will help us to stay safe.

 
Metal Detectors, Ramped up school security measures, and keeping grade levels separated from each other can help keep kids safer.
What about the children who are left to wonder why this happened to them, and
why the adults didn't protect them from it? How can we help them?
Here Are A List Of Things We Can Address Within Our Individual Schools And Districts:

Safety Words- "Mrs. Jackson has left the building" words for Lockdown, Evacuation, or Shelter In Place.
Safer Safety- Separate the safe areas from each other, and where possible, alternate the location of the safe areas over time, like one might change a password.
Online Communication About Emergency Information - Communicate effectively with law enforcement, and parents, and media.
More Guns, and potential shootouts on school campuses seems even more disturbing.
No new firearms on college campuses makes sense.
Securing the campuses against known people who shouldn't be allowed on the campus.
No Teachers with guns, because teachers already have enough to deal with.
Locked doors, separated school sections, and safe zones to protect the students. We can designate safe spaces and safe behaviors by staff and students to stay
safe.
Teach safety. We used to have air raid drills, fire drills, evacuation
procedures, and shelter in place, to ramp up preparedness in the event of an incident.
Strategies that are deliberate, but change over time. Hiding places that change.