Dr. Raymond Trigg reports on School Safety 2022: How the USA Is Working Toward Safer Schools

School shootings in the United States of America are at a terrifying record high. In fact, Dr. Raymond Trigg reports that these occurrences have been rising steadily since 1970 but dramatically skyrocketed in 2021. As students and teachers alike are hoping for near-term solutions, industry leaders, safety advisors, and regulators are working to implement new programs and address these concerns to deflate worry and increase protection.

The following explores various ways American learning institutions are tightening their safety protocols to ensure securer schools in 2022 and beyond.

ALICE Training for Staff and Students

ALICE Training provides active shooter threat and violence training for schools and other establishments (e.g., healthcare organizations, businesses, and houses of worship). While the provider recognizes that thinking about such things shouldn’t be a priority, the reality is that it must be.

The courses take a three-pronged approach:

• Empower through eLearning with a trauma-informed approach. It provides lesson plans for all grade levels too.
• Protect with an ALICE-Certified instructor who can demonstrate in-person active shooter response drills and situations.
• Mitigate legal and financial risk with research-backed ALICE Training that goes above and beyond standards to ensure schools are prepared and confident.

The nation’s schools are encouraged to take this proactive step to ensure their students and staff are well prepared if an active shooter incident occurs on their premises. This training will save the lives of students, teachers, and even the wider community.

Enhancing Parents’ Gun Safety Practices

Alarmingly, a national study on the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on gun-purchasing habits revealed an increased number of unsecured firearms being kept in houses with teenagers. The lack of gun safety and the rise of weapon purchases put students at risk, especially considering many school shooters acquire firearms from home.

The overt isolation experienced during the coronavirus lockdowns led to high stress levels, potentially increasing the likelihood of violence. Therefore, parents need to better educate themselves on gun safety practices and keep any firearms unloaded and locked in an out-of-reach location.

Addressing Students’ Mental Health Needs

Since school shooters are most likely to be current or former students, staff have unique opportunities to identify pupils in crisis before they incite terror.

Jillian Peterson, Hamline University, and James Densley, Metropolitan State University, note that properly addressing student mental health can prevent future attacks.

Welcoming environments, adequate staff training on identifying students in crisis, smaller class sizes, and qualified social workers instead of police officers can establish trusting relationships and ease mental health problems. In addition, eliminating undue punishment and other crisis-escalating acts is key to preventing school shootings.

Improving Safety Drills

Jaclyn Schildkraut, associate professor of criminal justice, states that all schools should establish best practices for safety drills to ensure they’re a helpful tool, not a hindrance.

Drills don’t need to be scary. Instead, mental health experts should work alongside school staff to plan and implement the drills. Plus, students need to be informed before the drill to ensure they aren’t caught off guard.

Building a Safer Future for America’s Students

Despite current circumstances, school shootings are preventable. It’s all down to the policymakers and practitioners acting quickly and enforcing new, beneficial regulations to save the lives of their students, fellow staff, and the community.