MPR: Safety in the Schools

Safety in the Schools: How Can We Be Sure?
By Tim Pugmire
August 30, 1999

The comfort level in many schools changed forever last April when 14 students and a teacher died in Colorado's Columbine High School.

The school year ended last spring under a cloud of fear and confusion. Threats and rumors of violence disrupted the routines in many Minnesota schools. Most Minnesota students return to school this week, and school administrators say they're trying hard to assure parents their children will be safe.

Warning Signs of Violence by Students
Has a history of tantrums and uncontrollable angry outbursts.

Characteristically resorts to name calling, cursing or abusive language.

Habitually makes violent threats when angry.

Has previously brought a weapon to school

Has a background of serious disciplinary problems at school and in the community.

Has a background of drug, alcohol or other substance abuse or dependency.

Is on the fringe of his/her peer group with few or no close friends.

Is preoccupied with weapons, explosives or other incendiary devices.

Has previously been truant, suspended or expelled from school.

Displays cruelty to animals.

Has little or no supervision and support from parents or a caring adult.

Has witnessed or been a victim of abuse or neglect in the home.

Has been bullied and/or bullies or intimidates peers or younger children.

Tends to blame others for difficulties and problems s/he causes her/himself.

Consistently prefers TV shows, movies or music expressing violent themes and acts.

Prefers reading materials dealing with violent themes, rituals and abuse.

Reflects anger, frustration and the dark side of life in school essays or writing projects.

Is involved with a gang or an antisocial group on the fringe of peer acceptance.

Is often depressed and/or has significant mood swings.

Has threatened or attempted suicide.

Source: National School Safety Center

LAST SPRING'S TRAGEDY at Colorado's Columbine High School triggered a shock wave felt in schools across the country. Media coverage of the shootings was inescapable for weeks, and anxiety rose among teachers, parents and students. There was an unprecedented number of bomb scares, and some schools canceled classes based on nothing more than a rumor of potential violence.

Richardson: I think almost every superintendent in the state at the end of the school year last year just too a deep breath and said "thank God it's over, nobody's been hurt, nobody's been injured, there've been no real bombs anywhere."

Chris Richardson is superintendent of the Osseo School District, the home to 22,000 students and 27 schools located in four northwest suburbs. One of the district's high schools was the target of a bomb scare last spring. Richardson says school safety is a real issue, but he thinks the level of the threat has been exaggerated by intense coverage of a few incidents. He says he hopes the summer vacation helped ease parents' concerns.

Richardson: And really all I can say to them is we're doing everything we can with prevention. We're doing everything we can to be watchful and listening. And we're going to provide the safe environment we've always provided. But, can we walk your child with an armed guard from room to room? No, we can't do that.

But every tragic incident chips away at the "it can't happen here" mentality. Osseo, like most Minnesota school districts, has a detailed plan for responding to emergencies. In the wake of Columbine, some schools began using realistic drills to fine-tune those plans. Bloomington Superintendent Gary Prest says his district conducted an exercise this summer with the Bloomington police department that simulated an armed intruder in a school. Prest says the district tries to keep most of its security measures invisible. He say the trained security personnel in Bloomington schools keep low profiles.

Prest: Our security are trained as greeters, welcomers, have good relationships with kids. So, it's not a presence that you'd look at that you'd have with uniformed security, but rather the security we have have a presence but it's more of a friendly presence.

Schools in Minneapolis take a similar approach, with "greeters" stationed at the front doors of every school. Unlike many large urban districts, Minneapolis and Saint Paul do not have metal detectors at school entrances, although detector wands have been used on occasion in some schools. The state's largest district is stepping up security this year by requiring all high school and middle school students to wear photo identification badges around their necks or clipped to their pockets. Superintendent Carol Johnson says it's a reasonable response.

Johnson: We obviously want our buildings to be welcoming places for people. We don't want our schools to be prisons. We want them to be places where the public can get access, where volunteers can come, where people in the community can help us do our jobs better. So I think we want to make sure they're safe.

But Johnson is also stressing the need for teachers to get to know their students better. The students who've turned guns on their classmates in Colorado and in other parts of the country have been described as "outsiders." Johnson says that should be a lesson, that all students must feel like they belong.

Johnson: What we've learned from Columbine and many of the other incidents that have around the country is that when students don't feel apart of the community, when they don't feel that people in the community care about them or care about their wellbeing, they feel isolated. And we don't want any student or any family to feel isolated.

The Minneapolis school district launched an anonymous, 24-hour-a-day tip line last fall aimed at heading off violence and helping students in trouble. Organizers of the "Save-A-Friend Hot Line" say the service has already intervened in several potential problems.

The state's top education official says school safety discussions should also examine the root causes of violence among youth. Christine Jax, commissioner of the Department of Children, Families and Learning, says educators and parents must ask tough questions about television, video games and other influences on childrens' behavior.

Jax: We need to take a hard look at whether we're desensitizing children and if we are if there are particular children we're doing that to, or if we have children who are really depressed. We have to figure out what the cause is and try to come up with some solutions and do some preventative measures rather than just reacting.

Jax is also hoping the long summer vacation has ended the cycle of threats and fear that gripped schools last spring. Educators who couldn't wait for last year to end, are now looking for a fresh start and calm atmosphere when they open the doors to students later this week.

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