Students need to feel safe when they learn, but schools aren’t always as secure as they should be. Unfortunately, it often takes a tragedy before people realize that school safety must always be taken seriously. Schools need to take action now, not after, student safety is threatened, and to do this they must realize that student safety can never be deprioritized.
April 20, 1999—the Columbine school shooting. In the wake of the horrific event, active shooter drills, lockdown drills and technology such as security cameras were instituted in schools across the country. The hope was that these measures would prevent further threats to students, and yet, in a 2024 statement on Columbine’s 25th anniversary, President Joe Biden said there have been more than 400 school shootings since the tragedy.
Students hear statistics like these warning them of the dangers they could experience at school, but never expect something of the sort to happen to them. Stories reach them from states away and so they don’t feel an immediate sense of danger. However, when these threats suddenly happen at a local level, the reality of school safety can leave students and faculty in shock.
For example, a fatal stabbing at Manor Senior High School two months ago ignited discussion regarding the school’s safety precautions. The school sent out a survey asking parents what safety measures they’d like to be implemented and scheduled weekly safety meetings where the community could input their suggestions. Students now live with increased safety measures like searching students with metal detectors when they enter school while they simultaneously grieve the loss of a classmate. Instead of suddenly upping safety measures when students have already experienced a great shock, schools should implement these safeguards as preventative measures before a tragedy happens.
Although additional safety measures are necessary to prevent further incidents, they indicate how schools take safety threats seriously only once something horrible has already happened. For instance, Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza voiced his concerns that there had been an “alarming number” of threats to schools since the 2024 school year started, which could’ve been an opportunity for districts to preemptively up safety protocols. However, because schools failed to do so, the measures needed to prevent a tragedy were not implemented before one could happen.
Just two days after the Manor incident, Principal Dr. Mack Eagleton IV sent an email to families at McNeil informing them of a rumored safety threat regarding a student who posted on social media with a weapon. Even though the message assured readers that police quickly investigated and found the weapon to only be a toy, instances like these pose real concerns for parents and students who wish they could have more confidence in schools’ vague promises of security when real instances prove they are unprepared to handle threats.
Families are meant to take hope in the district, leaning on resources like RRISD’s “Safety and Security” tab on their website, where an infographic lists the actions students and faculty should take in the case of danger. Information like this is available if someone were to go looking for it, but it’s not common knowledge for students at school. Because safety preparedness resources like these are meant to keep students and faculty safe, they should be shared in classrooms so that every student has the chance to be aware of the possibility of danger. Since many students don’t know that safety protocols (other than lockdown drills) even exist, in the case of danger they would be left unprepared in a situation that can, and should, be prepared for.
It is not an easy thing to talk about in school, but informing students about their own safety can only result in good outcomes. Increasing awareness about threats at schools can increase the likelihood of students advocating for their own safety. Additionally, an educated, informed and prepared environment can form support systems for student anxiety regarding their safety as well as respond more efficiently to threats. Talking about security at school is the best way to ensure that students know they’re not the only ones who care about their well being.
This openness is the first step to mediating threats towards schools across the country. If students know about the systems their schools have in place, they can fight to change subpar standards or have faith that their schools will protect them. Once students know they are safe, they can balance the harsh reality of the possibility of danger with hope that no further tragedies will happen before school safety is prioritized.
As too many students have had to learn, it’s a common response to become hyper-aware and increasingly vigilant after a tragedy occurs. However, schools should maintain this preparedness at all times, not just during times of increased fear and doubt, because students always deserve to feel a sense of security. It’s important to remember that safety does not just matter the week after a threat to school happens; students need to be safe, every day of every week. No one deserves to feel unsafe in a classroom, and no one deserves to worry that they might one day be.
