Seventeen teachers and students were murdered recently in a school shooting in Florida. 

Unfortunately, this is not something we are unfamiliar with hearing in the news.  In the past 8 years (not including 2018), over 500 students were killed or injured in gun related shootings on school campuses in the United States.  An estimated 50 million students are enrolled in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. With these numbers, the probability of my child being involved in a school shooting is low. 

Regardless of the low probability of an incident, I can't help but think about school security.  Is my school safe? Is there anything I can do to help? 

Here are some things I can do to evaluate and support school safety at my child's school:

I can make sure my school has appropriate safety procedures.  It is important to know how a school handles emergencies.  Are procedures in place and regularly rehearsed for weather issues and lock-down situations? Does the school have a system of alerting parents of an emergency?  Please be aware some procedures may be confidential, but school administration should be able to inform parents of the general procedures.

I can follow school policies…even those irritating sign-in sheets, visitor stickers, and background checks.  Schools with safety as a priority invest in electronic entry systems, design buildings with single access entry, and even install video surveillance.  I can support these investments by checking in at the front desk and not propping open school doors for easy access.  Skirting policies and procedures may seem harmless, but it is counterproductive to keeping schools safe.

I can pay attention to school surroundings and who is coming in and out of the school. I can direct other school visitors to follow check in procedures.  If I feel like something is suspicious, I can let school personnel know. I can teach my children to pay attention to their surroundings, as well.

I can stay connected and plugged in to what is going on in the school community.  If I see something on social media and I am concerned it is a threat, I can contact school personnel.  I can spend time in the classroom and at community events getting to know others in the community and paying attention to kids who may need extra attention.  An important part of increasing school safety and mentoring kids is being a noticer of the outliers.  Read about what this teacher is doing to make sure kids are not lost in the system.    

I can pray for God to protect our school campus, children, faculty and families.  I can even join other parents to pray weekly for my school. My child's school has a prayer group for both moms and dads that meet at separate times once a week to pray.   If my school doesn't have a prayer group, I can start one. 

 In reality, I know there is nothing anyone can do to 100% prevent a shooting.  But when it comes to safety, I still want to do all I can to help.