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Alexa Keller

Professor Daniel Archer

ENGL 20803

1 April 2019

School Security

Red Lake Middle School, 2005: Ten killed. Virginia Tech University, 2007: Thirty-two

killed. Sandy Hook Elementary School, 2012: Twenty-six killed. University of California, Santa

Barbara, 2014: Six killed. Umpqua Community College, 2015: Nine killed. Marjory Stoneman

Douglas High School, 2018: Seventeen killed. Santa Fe High School, 2018: Ten killed. Only a

fraction of the school shootings that have taken place in the last twenty years are listed here, and

only a fraction of the lives lost during these shootings are accounted for by these numbers.

School should not be a scary thing, yet children are terrified to go to school, and their

parents are uneasy until their students return home again at the end of a school day. This plot is

demonstrated again and again every time another school shooting shows up on the news. All of

this anxiety and nervousness started back with the Columbine massacre in Littleton, Colorado.

Both of my parents are graduates of Columbine High School, and my father’s sophomore science

teacher, Mr. Dave Sanders, was the single teacher who was killed in the shooting on April 20th,

1999. Ever since that monumental, horrifying day almost exactly twenty years ago, the topic of

school security has been a popular conversation across the nation. As a matter of fact, starting

with the Columbine shooting in 1999, “more than 187,000 students attending at least 193

primary or secondary schools have experienced a shooting on campus during school hours…

This means that the number of children who have been shaken by gunfire in the places they go to

learn exceeds the population of Eugene, OR, or Fort Lauderdale, FL” (Chiu). Before Columbine,
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most schools did not even have a crisis plan. Now, having a crisis plan of how to respond to

threats or actual intruders is mandatory. Thankfully, since that decisive day in the suburbs of

Denver, school security has slightly upgraded.

Although some slight improvements have been documented, it is imperative that security

in public schools is enhanced. It is not something that simply should happen; it needs to happen.

There is so much conversation about how to prevent these shootings happening in the first place

by improving students’ mental health. While this is clearly important and would help to prevent

school shootings, it is imperative that security in public schools is improved for times when these

shootings do occur. Through the implementation of training programs that teach teachers and

students how to increase their chances of surviving a school shooting, through the covert

selection and training of certain staff members in schools who could act with a weapon in

extreme situations, and through adopting a public safety mobile app, public schools could

become the safe places that they were before the tragic day in 1999. The safety of children in

schools is a powerful, emotive subject and unfortunately a subject that is too often featured in a

negative light in the news today. Now more than ever, action needs to be taken to ensure that

schools are prepared for situations where a ruthless person may attempt to compromise student’s

safety and that the right measures are in place to prevent disaster.

Looking back throughout history, in general, schools have placed security low on their

list of priorities. Traditionally, the security industry had neglected school security by

concentrating on developing protection devices and surveillance systems for other types of

facilities where card access predominated. When security in schools started to become a concern

in the late 1900’s, many public schools developed their own protection systems, which primarily

consisted of chaining their secondary exits against intruders and then focusing on the problems
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of vandalism and theft. In the 2000’s, schools finally began to step up a bit. Now, nearly every

school in America has an emergency alarm system, has locks on all doors to outside, and has a

procedure set in place for when there is an intruder. While these improvements are necessary and

appreciated, these are not necessarily everything that can be done to prevent innocent children

from being tragically shot. The issue of school security is not at the forefront of people’s minds,

which is where it should be placed. Today, advancements in school security are not on as sharp

of an incline as the number of school shootings that are occurring each year. It is imperative that

enhancements are continuing to be made consistently as shooters continue to get smarter and

more skilled. If schools put security and student’s safety at the forefront of their minds, upgrades

would naturally, consequentially be made.

One effective security improvement to public schools should be a program which teaches

potential victims how to raise their chances of surviving a shooting. Such a training program

would strengthen the overall feeling of security and comfort for students and teachers at school.

Lockdown procedures have been the standard procedure for years now, yet their effectiveness is

beginning to be questioned by many experts who argue that “placing a school under lockdown

can prevent disorder and aid law enforcement in apprehending the intruder. However, the

lockdown model has been criticized because it encourages students and staff to stay in the same

place and wait for help to arrive” (Montgomery). As an alternative, many security experts

believe it’s more effective for students and staff find a safe way to evacuate the school,

especially if they are in a location where the intruder can get to easily. In the past, lockdowns

have been accepted because they are an easy way to account for all students in a crisis, but if an

intruder were to make their way into a classroom, having an entire class of students huddled in
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one corner of the room makes for an easy, stationary target and doesn’t seem to be the safest

routine.

Logically thinking, it is safer to be outside of a building of which is locked with a person

with a gun inside. Yet, lockdowns are all students are familiar with until a different method is

brought to their attention through interactive programs and school assemblies which give

students new perspectives on how to best handle an intruder. These programs give students clear

instruction as to when it makes sense to stay where they are, flee, or in dire circumstances,

distract an intruder, and how to do each. Recently a training program has been developed “that

teaches potential victims...ways to fight back. It’s called A.L.i.C.E. training: Alert, Lockdown,

Inform, Counter, Evacuate… About a million and a half students in almost 300 systems have had

A.L.i.C.E. training” (Carsen). With a short one-day school assembly, the training not only

provides students with life-saving advice and instruction, but it also provokes new thoughts and

conversations at home with families. Bringing a program like A.L.i.C.E. to public schools could

enhance school security and make students feel more prepared and more safe walking into school

every day simply by educating the student body.

Another security improvement that could save a student or teacher in an active shooter

situation is the selection and placement of specific staff members in specialized weapon training

so they would have the option of and be capable of using a firearm in extreme, deadly

circumstances. Last year, after President Donald Trump mentioned the idea of possibly adding

concealed weapons to schools, “gun rights advocates have recommended providing more armed

security personnel as well as arming teachers to respond to an active shooter” (Green). It is

certainly not being recommended that all staff members carry guns. That would be absurd.

Instead, depending on how large the school is, a very small and select group of willing staff
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members that would be handpicked and would be required to go through thorough training to

handle a concealed weapon in secrecy. Neither the students nor teaching staff would be notified

of who these qualified individuals were, eliminating the chances of these weapons being used for

anything besides what they are intended to be used for. The reality is that armed security officers

can’t be in every room in the school at once, and even the nearest local police officers take at

least several minutes to arrive at the scene of a school shooting and provide assistance.

Therefore, the presence of these qualified adults in the classrooms with a secret concealed

weapon could increase the survival rate when an active shooter walks into a classroom. This is

merely because they could act against the shooter immediately, saving students in the process.

Arming teachers has recently been a controversial topic of conversation, but many are beginning

to see the advantages of arming some certified, willing teachers. Just a few years ago, The

Indiana County Republican Senate passed Bill 383, which “was approved by a 9-3 vote of

bipartisan Senate Education Committee and allows for school districts to grant properly licensed

and trained personnel access to firearms” (Davies). This county in Pennsylvania isn’t alone as

many counties across the country have passed similar bills recently, showing support of this

school security enhancement.

Although it is not new news that it is legal to own and carry a concealed weapon if

properly licensed, it has only been recently that many school administrations and school boards

have opened their minds to this idea. If carrying a concealed weapon helps many people to feel

safer in public, it would have the same effect in schools for students and the parents of students

who are sending their kids off every day to a place that has recently been a common target for

active shooters. With the ability to act instantly, school security would be improved if trained
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teachers, the identity of whom would not be known by students and staff, carried a concealed

weapon in the classroom.

Another possible solution to improve the issue of campus safety would be for schools to

adopt and implement public safety mobile apps that students, teachers, and staff would be

required to have on their phones. Nowadays, there are numerous effective mobile apps that exist

for the sole purpose of keeping grade school and college campuses safe. Students, starting as

young as ten years old, carry their cellular devices around with them everywhere and have them

ready to use at all times. Because of the constant availability of phones, they are an accessible,

easy way to ensure that students and teachers have a way of alerting others of danger or asking

for help at any time, anywhere.

There is a plethora of mobile apps that use many different tactics to combat the issue of a

lack of advanced school security. One commonly used app is “omnigo”, an app that provides

students with the means to anonymously disclose incidents or skeptical behavior to security via

chat interface. Users can upload and store safety procedures and policies for easy, mobile

access by members of the community or students and teachers at a school. According to the

“omnigo” website, the app provides “GPS capabilities that enable messages to be sent to all

users or those located in a specific area” to provide mass notifications. Another popular public

safety app called “CampusSafe” sets up a one-touch dial of nearby police and other

emergency, health care, and counseling numbers, along with links to crime prevention tips and

other relevant information based on the school. According to the “CampusSafe” website, the

app “features an emergency button that students can push if they feel unsafe on campus,

notifying campus and community police dispatch of their GPS location, identity and contact

information, and starting a phone conversation with dispatch.” With the assistance of apps like
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“omnigo”, “CampusSafe”, and various others, students, teachers, and staff would be more

protected by a wider span of people. All it would take would be to require everyone associated

with a school to download these free apps, and it would create a more aware, alert, and

conscious environment. In addition to everyone feeling safer, if it were publicized that schools

used apps like these, it would discourage potential shooters from even attempting to attack the

school.

In addition to school shootings being a hot topic in the news, the issue of mental health is

also pervasive, and the two are beginning to be spoken about in the same conversations. It is

often said that one of the most effective ways to prevent school shootings is to improve the

mental health of the students at the school. As one expert puts it, “Don’t harden schools. Make

them softer, by improving social and emotional health” (Kamenetz). Plenty of ideas have been

introduced to improve the mental health of students at school including having support groups,

education of mental illnesses and their effects, and the prevention of bullying. While these tactics

may be beneficial when the goal is to improve mental health, these tactics will do nothing when a

school shooting is actually occurring. Clearly it is important to make sure that students are

emotionally stable and feel supported. With saying that, when an intruder has entered a school

and is about to recklessly murder innocent children, the mental health education will have done

nothing to protect these kids from being shot. Educating students on mental health is a good

preventative measure to avoid school shootings in the future, but it is not an effective way to fix

the issue currently. School security MUST be improved for when school shootings happen.

Addressing mental health concerns may help to prevent these shootings in the future, but in order

to save kids in school now, it is imperative that we do what we can to improve school security in

a tangible way.
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Recently, the “safest school in America” has been named, and it is Southwestern High

School in Shelbyville, Indiana. The school now has a $400,000 security system that is outfitted

with bullet proof doors and hallway cameras that feed directly into the local sheriff’s office. The

school has ceiling smoke canisters that can be detonated in hallways to visually impair an

attacker or active shooter if they were to somehow enter the building. While some may say that

this is excessive, the reality is that this is a safe school; the parents of the students that attend the

school every day probably aren’t constantly worried about their precious children’s safety. In the

event that an active shooter attempted to attack the school, the students would more than likely

be safe. This school has truly done all that they can do to prepare the school in a time of crisis.

While these measures to keep students safe are extreme, they are effective. Even if schools

allocated the time and money to put one or two of these security programs in place, the issue of

school security would come significantly closer to being solved.

It is often argued that there isn’t enough money in a school district’s budget to enhance

school security when nothing violent has yet happened at the school. But, paying for these

improvements and programs will be completely worthwhile when they used on an unexpected

tragic day. Whether it is through a school district bond, a grant, or even some school fundraising,

the budget does not need to be a barrier for safety. Children’s safety is a cause that nearly any

parent that is financially able would be willing to donate to. It’s understandable that many

schools do not want to pay extra for something that doesn’t seem like a daily issue, but the

debate of if security is worth its price dates back to the impact of the Columbine shooting.

Although there have been slight improvements, efforts to enhance security many times still fall

short as schools have to balance meeting academic needs in addition to security needs, within

tight budget constraints, that “...have not been historically part of [the] equation,” Ken Trump,
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President of School Safety and Security Services, stated. “I have walked into schools that

are…beautiful facilities that were built within budget and you look and say, ‘Where’s the

conversation about fundamental basic security?’” (Mirabella). This issue is truly no different

than paying for life insurance. Insurance is normally not needed on a day-to-day basis, but when

it is needed in extreme circumstances, one is really thankful they paid for it. Many times, it

seems like school districts across the nation find it easier and more important to secure funding

for more beautiful facilities than they do for security, as libraries are being expanded before

security is enhanced. Ultimately, it comes down to a question of which should be the priority:

extravagant buildings or life-saving plans; and for most, that is an extremely easy question to

answer. It is indisputable that most school security improvements are incredibly expensive,

especially considering that ideally they are never going to be put to use, but if the enhancements

could save even one life in an extreme situation, it seems clear that paying the price for security

now makes sense.

As a whole, while public school security should be of utmost importance, it is often

pushed aside. Enhancements to existing security measures can be made through training

programs that educate students on how to raise survival rates, confidentially selecting and

training specific faculty members to keep a concealed weapon for instant action in the classroom,

and requiring the possession of certain public safety mobile apps will not only help to save more

lives, but will also enhance the students’ and staff’s feeling of safety while at school. The place

where students go to learn every day should never be a place of fear, but especially as the

number of school shootings increases, it is quite common for students and parents to feel afraid

and worried while children are at school. So, maybe now is the time for a minor pause in the

mindless spending for nicer educational technology and new facilities that are so eagerly,
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willingly paid for. Now is the time to focus more energy and money on an increase in school

security that would appease much agony as students walk into their schools every day.
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Works Cited

Carsen, Dan. “To Survive A Shooting, Students Learn To Fight Back.” NPR, NPR, 11 Oct.

2012, www.npr.org/2012/10/11/162712905/to-survive-a-shooting-students-learn-

to-fight-back. Accessed 3 April 2019.

Chiu, Allyson. “The Extraordinary Number of Kids Who Have Endured School Shootings

since Columbine.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 21 Mar. 2018,

www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/local/us-school-shootings-

history/?utm_term=.87fe24e5dd3f. Accessed 1 April 2019.

Davies, Tom. “Gun Training for Teachers among Indiana GOP Firearms Bills.” AP NEWS,

Associated Press, 11 Feb. 2019,

www.apnews.com/dca5396cb7d54e8f9c72af82b152c0d2. Accessed 1 April 2019.

Green, Erica L., and Manny Fernandez. “Trump Wants to Arm Teachers. These Schools

Already Do.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 1 Mar. 2018,

www.nytimes.com/2018/03/01/us/armed-teachers-guns-schools.html. Accessed 1

April 2019.

Kamenetz, Anya. “Here's How To Prevent The Next School Shooting, Experts Say.” NPR,

NPR, 7 Mar. 2018, www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/03/07/590877717/experts-say-

here-s-how-to-prevent-the-next-school-shooting. Accessed 4 April 2019.

Mirabella, Lorraine. “Security Now Plays Bigger Role in School Design in Wake of

Tragedies.” Baltimoresun.com, 24 Mar. 2018,


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www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/bs-bz-school-construction-

security-20180301-story.html. Accessed 4 April 2019.

Montgomery, Rick. “Controversial Lessons Show Schools How to Thwart an Armed

Intruder.” Government Technology State & Local Articles - E.Republic, 9 Mar. 2015,

www.govtech.com/em/training/Controversial-Lessons-Show-How-Thwart-Armed-

Intruder.html. Accessed 1 April 2019.

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