A Guide for School Safety
Years ago there were policies that were designed for fire drills and bomb scares so many schools had bomb shelters when children were growing up. The fire drill would ring or the bomb shelter alarm and the students were taught where to go by class and age. As the years have changed and school killings and terrorism seem to be more of a threat, many policies were rewritten and new policies were enacted into school districts. Since 9/11, more parents have called their school districts and have asked if they had any policies for school safety guides for children in case of bomb threats, terrorism or unfortunately students with guns. Many schools are now locked during school hours and students have to stay in the building. Policies have become stricter when it comes for someone to pick up your child in case of an emergency.
Students can no longer leave with strangers if they are not on the emergency list.
Schools will close if bomb threats or other dangerous threats are called in while the police come to the school and look for anything that could be dangerous to children. There has been so much tragedy in schools all over the nation and in other countries for the last 25 years that there is now a shortage of teachers. Most schools have a police officer on duty and this is especially true for high schools. Police officers are not there to scare students but to keep them safe and they are constantly looking for anything and anyone that is a threat to the school.
Parents have to talk to their children before they start school and explain that there are rules. If parents are uncertain what the rules are, there should be guides for school safety that are available for parents to read so they know what tactics the school uses to keep the students safe. Policies can always be changed and rewritten and most of these policies are written by the school boards in each district. There are school board meetings if parents are uncertain what the policy actually means and then they should attend these meetings to ask questions so they are reassured their child will be in safe hands.
Parents with children that are older also have to reiterate that there is a zero tolerance for drugs, weapons, terrorism, sexual harassment and bullying amongst other things. In addition, there are also policies for the use of the computer labs. Any child that is looking at inappropriate content will have consequences to answer to. Parents must take this information seriously and if they have a child whom they believe needs extra help, by all means, talk to the school. Schools are there to help parents direct their children to the correct services. This is why if your child is acting strangely, it’s important to see what they are up to and who their friends are. You might be saving your child and yourself a whole lot of grief by finding out what is going on in their lives before things get out of hand.
There are procedures that schools go through when a child is caught endangering the safety of the faculty and the other students.
It depends on the often, but many children are expelled and they can receive homebound instruction if they show some sort of remorse. This is only if they have not harmed anyone. The average child is expelled until they are 21 years old depending on the crime. If the child qualifies for homebound instruction, this may occur at a public place like a public library and the student may be allowed to use the computers for math and other subjects that require test taking at the school administration building if the school district agrees. The student may be allowed back into school only if the homebound instructor makes a plea to the school board and feels the student has paid for their crime. This is not the case for all children though, but this information is usually written in school policy where the school safety guides will offer the parents the information they need to know in case of a crisis.
Every district in every state has a different policy so make sure you as parents read through all of these policies with a fine-toothed comb so you can’t use the excuse, I didn’t read that in the school safety guide booklet. This is a whole different era we now are living in and teachers have to know if your child is taking the bus, being picked up or walking home from school. Children can disappear in any city, town or village where a parent would least expect. Schools all have cameras now as do all the larger cities so most of whatever happens can be caught on videotape. This is how many crimes are solved so if you remind your children about these cameras they will be less likely to act on impulse.
Parents have to begin to prepare their children for school young so they don’t set them up for failure. They only get one chance at getting a good education and if parents aren’t involved, their children will be less likely to show interest in school, school policies, and school safety guides. Younger children usually enjoy a fire drill, because most of them have had the fire department come and talk about fire safety or have gone on a field trip. As kids mature, they understand the impact their school could have if they actually did face a school emergency crisis and students, faculty and administrators also are on the lookout in case of an emergency.
The last thirty years have brought much tragedy to American schools and the teachers and students, faculty and administrators involved. Make sure your children understand that you love them and are only interested in their best interests if they show disinterest in the reasoning behind school safety guides. If students become more aware they can help their fellow students and work on safety issues with the schools they attend. This is a project that will also encourage their confidence in themselves and their ideas. They will also understand what is like working together as a team. Teamwork is important because they will use it in college, graduate school and in the workforce as they raise their own families.
