Sad. Tragic. These 2 words ring loudly in the aftermath of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut and Taft Union High School in California. Our nation grieves and prays for all of the victims, their families and for the young perpetrators and their families. The unimaginable has happened and although these two horrific events have occurred within a month of each other, they are rare occurrences. While these two shootings have dominated the news as of late, the research shows that schools are the safest places for young people. In contrast, most youth victims of violent crime take place outside of school.
Here's a 3rd word…RATIONAL. It is a reasonable reaction to want to do everything possible to protect our children. I can’t imagine the words to say to any parent whose trust and confidence has been shaken by these tragedies. But the national response is pretty scary when I think of the potential outcomes, particularly for young people of color, students with disabilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students, and gender non-conforming students.
The calls to increase the armed police presence in schools, while well-intentioned, are not the answer to effective school safety. Though the violent crimes happening in schools that we hear about occur in the suburbs and in rural areas, we know the result of any policies that increase police in schools will be seen in communities of color. Additionally, an increase in school police has proven to increase the number of youth arrests for non-violent and non-criminal offenses. So let's get to real, rational, reasonable policies and practices that make sense for kids and schools.
Want to create a positive, safe school climate without funneling more kids into the school-to-prison pipeline, check out:
Education Week’s Quality Counts 2013 http://www.edweek.org/ew/toc/2013/01/10/index.html?INTC=EW-QC13-EM
Dignity in Schools media release: http://www.dignityinschools.org/blog/coalition-says-armed-police-schools-wrong-answer-stopping-gun-violence
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