In recent years, the rate of violence in schools has increased, causing concern for the safety of staff and students. In the 2021-2022 school year alone, Montgomery County Schools reported 697 severe incidents. According to NPR news, during the 2019–2020 school year, there were about 939,000 violent incidents (including sexual assaults, robbery, and physical attacks with or without a weapon) in U.S. public schools. About seventy percent of schools reported at least one violent incident during the school year. During that same year, there were 75 school shootings with injuries, including 27 with fatalities and 37 with no injuries.
The continuous appearance of violence within our country has raised worry amongst school administrators, leading them to implement updated safety protocols, increase security within schools and require staff safety protocol training designed to keep danger out of schools and students safe inside.
A recent letter written by Superintendent Dr. Monica McKnight addresses the use of school safety protocols and speaks on the changes that have already been made throughout the county. Specifically, Dr. McKnight wrote, “As the superintendent, I am committed to ensuring that families, staff and students receive the same sort of notification, clarity and assurance from their schools that I want from my own child’s school.”
Safety training is a process that aims to provide workplace communities with the knowledge and skills needed to help them perform their job in a way that is safe for both them and their peers. The training would allow staff to identify hazards, report them, and deal with various incidents or situations. After the recent increase in school violence, having our staff trained, prepared, and knowledgeable of protocol improves our school’s overall safety and the safety of students.
An article by EducationWeek states that a “students’ ability to learn depends not just on the quality of their textbooks and teachers, but also on the comfort and safety they feel at school, and the strength of their relationships with adults and peers there.” Learning in an unfamiliar or uncomfortable environment can side-track a student’s mind, and make it harder for them to absorb information. Furthermore, environments in which students feel chronically unsafe and uncared for make it physically and emotionally harder for them to learn. Feeling safe in an environment improves students’ emotional health, increasing the likelihood that they will enjoy learning and come to school every morning.
As of last school year, MCPS schools have begun implementing the active shooter drill, where students practice where to go and what to do in case of a gun-related crisis. The drill consists of finding safety, barricading the doors and practicing silence while inside the classroom. In addition, schools have increased the number of practice drills during school hours to ensure that everyone is prepared for the worst. These drills include lockdowns, shelters, weather in place, fire drills and more.
Bethesda Chevy Chase High School science teacher Lia Papadopoulos said, “As a teacher and a new mother, I feel more comfortable and safe at school knowing that we have a plan for anything that can come.”
For some students, this implementation of stricter safety protocols brings a sense of comfort and alleviates fear regarding any potential breach of safety in educational institutes. This reassurance continues to reinforce the idea that schools care about the well-being of their students and faculty as they continue to take measures to ensure safety all around.
“There are many teachers in this school that I trust, and knowing that they are prepared to protect me and my classmates is very reassuring. They are very good at patrolling the school perimeter, and making sure everyone is where they are supposed to be at all times,” Albert Einstein High School sophomore Fiona Malcolm said.
Written by Madeline Leff of Bethesda Chevy Chase High School
Photo courtesy of Varun Srinivasan of Wheaton High School