Schools: What can they do?

Schools are just as new at finding ways to prevent shootings as everyone else. The time for hoping that they will go away is over, and school districts have found themselves in the position of formulating contingency and prevention plans. Even when a plan has been finalized, schools are realizing that, with each new incident, revisions have to be made to stay a step ahead.

One basic technique for dealing with school shootings is having drills. You wouldn't think of skipping fire drills, because they are proven to help keep calm and to get students out in a safe, efficient manner. Drills for school shootings, if done regularly enough, will result in the same effect.

The problem with school shooting drills is that once one student has them memorized, they all will. That means that a school shooter will know the drill, too. That's why school shooting drills should be done in a more unpredictable manner. If a school shooter knows that all or part of the school will evacuate to the playground, for instance, then he or she will know where to set up a vantage point. Instead, develop a plan in which only teachers will know where they will lead students in the event of an actual evacuation. Make sure that your teachers know when it is safe to evacuate and when it would be safer to lock down classrooms.

The unpredictability of a school shooter's behavior means that there are no easy, standardized drills for every school. That's why it is important for staff and parents to get together and decide if drills are appropriate for their school.

While all major airports, many courthouses and the majority of police stations agree that metal detectors are an important part of their security system, only a tiny percentage of schools have them. When deciding on using their tight budgets for books or metal detectors, especially when school shootings are still statistically rare, it's not difficult to see why most schools opt for books. If enough parents and staff are interested, however, it doesn't need to be an either/or option. A special fundraiser just for a metal detector can be started - and the concern a school shows by starting one can reflect positively on its image by showing the school is giving thought to the issue of student safety. There's also the fact that metal detectors work both on the spot and as deterrents.

Even something as simple as the exit signs in a school can make a difference. Of course, by law, they all have them. Are the exit signs for the doors that lead outside any different than those that lead to enclosed courtyards? Are the signs illuminated so that they can be seen if there is smoke in a hallway? Different states have different regulations regarding exit signs. Make sure the students at your school can differentiate between the types of exits and the types of signs, and through education to make sure they've got that information. Exit signs halfway down the wall may be helpful, too, in cases where visibility might be an issue (such as a drop ceiling in a hallway or a bank of lockers blocking one above the door, or in the case of visibly - impaired students). Make sure the sign portion is also shatterproof, and that the power source or bulbs are tamper-proof.

With regards to windows, most people understand why schools with more than one story have windows that are basically exit-proof. However, with regards to safety during school shootings, another consideration has been added to the mix. A window is possibly the best possible escape route.

Given the fact that the safety features of permanently, or mostly, closed windows are at odds with the need for them to be exits; many schools will opt to keep the ones they have. Instead, it might be possible, however, to reach a compromise - a window that can open only with a key that must be on each teacher's, or staff member's, key ring at all times. That way, the windows can remain closed unless there is a reason, such as escape from a shooter, to open them. In the case of upper stories, retractable ladders can be stored in cabinets under the windows, ready to be unrolled or unfolded, should the need arise.

Either way, there are options that will allow schools to have the best of both worlds with regard to their windows. If a school shooting is underway and a teacher decides, based on the proximity of the shooter, that the classroom should be locked down, the quality of the classroom doors can be the weakest or strongest link in the safety equation. Most school doors are heavy metal fire doors, but are they bulletproof? Can the lock be shot off? Can the door be strengthened in order to improve its ability to stop a bullet? Are there windows in the door? If so, can they be broken and the door subsequently unlocked or are they so small that students in that room could get out of eyesight of a shooter peering through them?

Schools could take an effective cue from businesses by installing roll-down steel doors just inside the doorframe of each existing door. Then, if a shooting were to occur, each teacher, with a key, could roll down and lock each door, thus barring both entry and visibility into the classroom. The key is an added safety feature to ensure that students themselves couldn't roll the doors up or down to create barriers or hostage situations. These doors would reinforce a policy that many schools already have of locking out shooters. They could also be used to close off other parts of the school to an approaching shooter, thus giving students a few more precious seconds to run for safety.

One impediment to safety at many schools is the type of door hardware that exists. The doors fitted with long bars that are pushed to operate the door can be chained shut with a simple bike chain, preventing evacuation. Another model, with a flat bar, is much harder with which to tamper.

Other schools are installing cameras to monitor students and facilities. Cameras enable those watching to call the police. They also deter those who don't want to be filmed from committing an infraction on school grounds. Cameras can also enable the police to see inside the school, should an attack occur. Locker searches are controversial in some schools, but are a matter of policy at others. Locker doors retrofitted with a Plexiglas-backed steel mesh can provide both security for students and a way to see into lockers on a more regular basis.

The way a school landscapes can also be helpful when considering things like cover and concealment in the event of a school shooting. Decorative mounds, large rocks, trees with large trunks, low block walls and partitions can all provide places for students to hide when trying to escape a building under siege.

Schools can also increase safety by enlisting the help of the students. What about the school would they improve? What things do they see that adults haven't? By starting up an anonymous tip program that is truly anonymous (not a drop box in a busy area that everyone will be watching), such as e-mail or a phone line, a school will open up the lines of communication with students wanting to report a variety of behaviors, including drug activity, theft and school violence. No matter how hard a faculty tries, nobody can ever know the inside workings of the student body like a member of the student body. Use this to your advantage by giving students a way to participate in the safety of their school. They'll also find it empowering.

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