In response to the recent school shootings,
President George W. Bush called on the National
Sheriffs’ Association to lead the effort in identifying
promising practices for ensuring the safety of our
nation’s schools and the protection of our children.
On October 10, 2006, President Bush participated
in a panel discussion on school safety at a national
“Conference on School Safety.” President Bush
asked how federal, state, and local governments
can work together with schools, communities, and
families to help ensure our schools are safe places
for students to learn.
How would you rate student safety in your district?
What are your thoughts on improving student safety in your district?
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6 comments:
I recently spent a lot of time with Screven County High School students who had a lockdown recently and a loaded hand gun was found in the search of a student's book bag. The ignorant claim was that he had forgotten to remove it when he was recently moving houses. These students were very alarmed and concerned about their continuous safety due to the many gangs and fights they have at their school. It really was sad to me that they have to attend school each day with fear in the back of their minds. The public school system should be safer at any cost.
I know that students in Hall County use Myspace a great deal to communicate. Recently, a fight was planned using Myspace. A student placed a post about who she was fighting, where, when, etc. NUMEROUS students from the school showed up at the Movie Theatre that night to see the fight and participate. So now the School Resource officer checks up on online communication for updates on possible student violence issues.
It is very different between school systems. At the last school system I worked, we had hall cameras, full time security officer and lock downs and drug checks fairly frequently. At the school I am at now there are no hall cameras, part time security officer and no lockdowns. I do think that there are some of the same problems in both schools but because the disturbances were more frequent at the last school a beefed up security. I think an administrator needs to keep a hands on attitude with discipline and check with students to see what is happening in the school. It is better to be proactive than reactive.
In the City of Gainesville Schools System, there is a School Resource Officer assigned to every school, even the elementary schools. The SRO's go on all school activities off campus and even go on Senior Trip with the High School. In Hall County, SRO's are assigned to the High Schools. Several have K-9's which are trained in Narcotic, Bomb, and Article searches. The need for the officers in every school is due to the large amount of gangs that are reaching all the schools.
I currently live in Tallahassee, Florida. And, as most people know, Florida is nortorious for child abductions. Recently, a man tried to abduct a child from one of the elementary schools in the school. The man failed to abduct the child and thanks to a few witnesses, the police were able to get a description of him. There are now billboards all over Tallahassee with the man's picture in hopes of someone recognizing him and turning him in. As for safety with in the school (not accounting for outside disturbances), there are metal detectors at every entrance and exit to the school, as well as police officers who regularly patrol the area.
I believe that our school qualifies as just average. We do not have hall cameras or SRO's. What we do have is a dedicated staff that works hard and pays attention to what is going on. Staff members keep their ears open. It is amazing what you can hear if you listen. I allow my homeroom students to talk for about five to seven minutes each morning while I work at my computer, but I am really listening to what they have to say. Teachers can quickly learn who is about to fight, who is involved in illegal activity, and who is pregnant because the kids don't believe that I am listening. I have shared this tatic with other teachers and we have been able to refer many students to counselors and avoid a number of fights. I do see the need in the near future for our school to have a School Resource Officer and maybe soon after we will need cameras and metal detectors in the wake of this week's event at Virginia Tech.
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