Are Our Schools Safe for Our Kids?

Picture of an empty classroom with rows of desks

Kids spend 8 hours a day, 5 days a week at school. A majority of their formative years are within the confines of those walls, so it would be an expectation that these kids would be safe at school. Right? Public school safety has been a concern for families since public schools as we know them have been established. It is an expectation that the place your kids spend most of their day be safe, but unfortunately, this is not always the case. It seems that every day we see headlines about school shootings and breaches in security within these schools. According to an article from The Gallup News, 44% of parents are fearful for their children's safety when they are at school, and 20% of parents say their own children have expressed concerns about their safety in schools. As the 2022-2023 school year takes off, parents and students have rising concerns for their safety due to the 2021-2022 school year ending with the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

I was working in a school when the shooting in Texas occurred, and the day after, our principal came over the intercom and gave us a rundown of some school safety updates. No doors in the entire building could be propped under any circumstances. The day before was field day. Doors outside were propped for convenience, and countless students and adults were in and out of the school all day. Anything could have happened. The air in the school was heavy and many parents kept their students home out of fear. There were increased police patrols for the final 3 days of school, and every single teacher was on edge. School safety is a huge issue for students, teachers, and parents/guardians. Personally, I believe there needs to be increased funding for public schools to put towards security as well as federal legislative measures that need to take place. Making schools safer is not as simple as installing bulletproof windows and having practice lockdowns once a month. There need to be steps taken at a higher level than the schools themselves. This is how we can make our schools a safe place for our students.