School Safety: An Outdated Solution to a

New Problemby Ashley BowerSherry Cooper

Kristen Cunningham

Lockdown● Please “bullet” (no pun intended) point what

you do at your school during a lockdown.

We will share out in 2 minutes.

Why we chose this topic...

School Security “Columbine, like the shootings at Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook Elementary School, also showed that supposed safe havens--

schools--sometimes are not. Perhaps that lingering revelation is the most

frightening of all.”-Julian Kimble

In the news0 - 9 5 (2%)

10 - 19 168 (69%)

20 - 29 36 (15%)

30 - 39 12 (5%)

40 - 49 14 (6%)

50+ 9 (4%)

Age of Shooters (U.S.)

Florida State Statistics

21 SHOOTINGS since 1993LAST SHOOTINGS

0 - 9 1 (8%)

10 - 19 10 (77%)

20 - 29 1 (8%)

30 - 39 0 (0%)

40 - 49 1 (8%)

50+ 0 (0%)

AGE OF SHOOTERS

Children ages 5-14 in America are 13x more likely to be murdered with guns as children in other industrialized countries (source: David Hemenway).

Closer to home… in ManateeFrom the 2008-09 SESIR

There were 52 weapons possession offenses in the district reported to law enforcement:

From 17 different schools (Elementary, Middle, High, and Charter)

Weapons Possession Means...Code Definition

E Explosion,Incendiary/Poison

F Firearm, Other

H Handgun

K Knife

O Other Weapon

R Rifle or Shotgun

U Unknown Weapon

Z Not Applicable

Of these 52 violations

5 were firearms and

4 of the 5 firearms were at our

middle schools.

So how do we compare to the State?Florida (on this same reporting year) had127 firearms / 2463 weapons possessions= 5.1 %Manatee had 5 firearms / 52 weapons possessions= 9.6 % NOT SO GOOD!

Manatee’s Response to Newtown“SWAT teams from the Manatee Sheriff's Office and Bradenton Police will inspect schools for security issues. The teams will examine windows, doors, locks, fences and security cameras for any potential breaches.”

“Due to school budget cuts, school resource officers were recently removed from all elementary schools in Manatee County.”

Scenario ActivityYou are in the process of teaching when suddenly you hear gunfire. To make matters worse, one of your students is out using the restroom.

1. What are your actions at this point?2. Who should you contact/call?3. Who is in charge?

Run Hide Fight

We Do Not Hide

We Do Not Run

We Do Not Fight

WHAT IF WE...

Could this work in your classroom?

Reflecting on the issue...

Our County’s New PlanGoal #5

Establish a culture of safety and security with consistent procedures for all district facilities while maintaining a welcoming environment

Strategic Objectives-Controlled access to buildings and properties-Expand maintenance capacity for systems and hard assets-Increase site monitoring capacity-Increase incident readiness-Develop collaborative relationship with staff and law enforcement

Our Ideas for Change● Make the drills realistic, but do so safely.

(Test students and staff who are outside, during lunch, close off typical routes, locate safe points in each classroom, etc.)● Debrief the same days with students and teachers.● Provide more training for staff and students (during faculty meetings,

tabletop exercises, documents for substitutes, etc.).● Address results and breaches during drills.● Resolve the issue of schools sharing an SRO. ● Assess the school (windows, cameras, directions that doors open,

screens).● Develop a communication system and clarify roles/responsibilites.

Thank you for watching!

Do you have any questions?