After the massacre, pundits scurried to the front of cameras to offer the same tired solutions for a problem that has morphed into a national crisis.
#Guns.
Pharmaceutical drugs.
Law enforcement negligence.
The list of whom and what to blame for the rapidly increasing number of school violence events neglects to answer one question: How to create safe, supportive, and trauma-responsive schools.
The Numbers Do Not Lie
Between July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2014, a combination of 48 students, educators, and visitors lost their lives on school property in the United States. The 48 deaths included 28 homicides, 20 suicides, one death caused by legal intervention, and one death not determined by law enforcement. About two-thirds of public schools reported at least one violent incident during the 2013-14 school year.
The Center for Disease Control released a report stating almost 10% of students participated in a physical fight during the school year. Six percent of students fail to attend school because of what they perceived to be an unsafe learning environment.
It is not just about violence. Students also face the growing menace called bullying. With social media sites presenting the convenient opportunity for bullies to unleash intimidation, we should not be surprised that incidents of bullying have increased in the United States public education system. During the 2015-16 school year, nearly 15% of fourth graders and seven percent of eighth graders reported being victims of bullying at least one time over the span of 30 days.
The question is since we all can agree that violence and intimidation exist in the United States public school system, but what are we going to do to stop the violence and intimidation?
Supportive Strategies to Keep Students and #Educators Safe
Academics wring their hands, as well as toss and turn at night trying to come up with the most effective solutions for creating supportive learning environments. A seminal book released in 2009 still has relevance today. Five co-authors argue for a few common sense approaches to creating supportive learning environments.
Perhaps the most critical strategy involves connecting with parents and community leaders to foster a more open and welcoming learning environment. Parents take the lead at home by extending the classroom learning environment, and community leaders develop programs that encourage children and adolescents to learn year round. Another recommendation is to sustain strong instructional that includes more collaboration among students. The book goes on to emphasize the importance of cohesive school leadership that concentrates more on teaching and less on disciplining students who make mistakes.
#Trauma Response Must Improve
We cannot expect all the sound school safety first practices to expunge school violence and intimidation. However, we can do a better job of responding to the trauma caused by life-changing events that occur in our public schools.
Trauma represents an event or several events when students and educators experience physical and emotional harm that lingers for years. Research indicates the majority of students in the American public education system have gone through at least one traumatic event. More than 60% of students experience a traumatic event at school by the time they turn 16 years old. About two-thirds of students have witnessed or been a victim of violence, with more than half of the victims experiencing more than one violent incident.
The Consequences of Trauma
Students who go through a traumatic event develop learning disabilities, such as having problems staying focused or forgetting important parts of classroom lectures. Victimized students also find it hard to maintain stable social relationships with both peers and educators. The consequences of trauma include lower standardized test scores and a higher incidence of suspensions and expulsions.
Effective Trauma Response Matters
Schools that implement effective trauma response programs ensure students and educators build caring relationships, as well as pay close attention to their physical and emotional health. Students thrive in the classroom and educators deliver a compelling curriculum that helps students grow personally and academically. Trauma responsive schools create a comprehensive strategy that starts with working with local law enforcement to create a game plan for how to respond to traumatic events. The response can include knowing where to go during a traumatic event and how to seek counseling after a traumatic event is over.
Here are some other ways to improve trauma response in our nation’s public schools:
· Create an educational program that discusses the meaning of trauma
· Emphasize that feeling vulnerable after a traumatic event is not a weakness
· Educate parents about how trauma negatively influences the learning process
· Promote safe learning environments in classrooms, hallways, and playgrounds
· Identify barriers to healing after a traumatic event
· Train educators to detect student mood changes
· Encourage confidential discussions between students and school mental health professionals
· Make sure an emotional support staff is always there for students and educators
The national debate about how to prevent and handle #school-based trauma often misses the point. Instead of debating whether to arm teachers or build schools that resemble prisons, the discussion about school #safety should be more about finding ways to offer support to the people who need it the most.
