It can be challenging to discuss and even think about, but the fact of the matter is that there are predators within our world and possibly your community. Whether you’re a parent, school administrator, or teacher, the safety of your students should be at the forefront of your mind. Keeping students safe at school is a necessity, and providing children with a place where they feel safe and can excel is of utmost importance.
Read on to dive a little deeper into how we can achieve safety for the most precious members of society: our children.
Walking Routes
If there are children in your community that walk to school, consider having an assembly that can help them learn how to stay safe. Whatever the child’s age, there are risks involved when children walk alone. Teach parents and children that they should walk in groups if possible. This action will prevent predators from seeking out children that are alone.
You may also want to look up sex offenders online to see if any live near you. If so, plan a different route your child can take to school. Drive your student on a route they can walk first. After doing so, drive the route again but have them tell you the directions as you drive. This practice will ensure they understand the directions and give them the confidence to walk the path themselves.
School Access
School security has become a major concern over the past few years. Advancing technology and security access systems can help increase school safety. Various electronic locks, like keypads, biometric systems, and smart cards, can serve as fantastic school-wide security tools.
Without these tools, there’s an open door for unwanted guests to walk in. School shootings are a sensitive subject, and rightfully so, but discussing them is the only way to work toward preventing them. On top of school access, consider adding tactical concealed carry backpacks in classrooms that teachers can use for protection and defense of students due to their military-grade armor inserts. Although these can only do so much, they could potentially save lives.
Counseling
Emotional safety is just as important as physical safety within a school setting. Every child brings different life experiences into the school setting. With this, different personalities can clash, or individual children may have some coping mechanisms that aren’t allowing them to succeed academically. Ensure you have a trusted counselor on staff at the school. They can help children navigate emotions and encourage conflict resolution.
Communicate with your community at the start of the school year about how you collectively plan to keep their children safe throughout the year. Consider adding school assemblies to the schedule so that everyone is on the same page and understands the school’s efforts. Keeping students safe is of utmost importance and not something to take lightly.
