Mental Health Experts, Educators Call for End to School Shooter Drills
2020-02-19
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1Two years ago this month, a 19-year-old American shot and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
2Fourteen of the victims were students; the other three were teachers.
3The gunman was a former student at the high school.
4On this anniversary, as with other anniversaries of school shootings, Americans continue debating how to make sure students are safe in schools.
5On February 11, a group called Everytown for Gun Safety released a report on one method for reducing gun violence at schools in the United States.
6Everytown is a not-for-profit organization.
7It joined with two labor unions in writing the report on school safety drills for active shootings.
8The two are the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA).
9The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation defines an active shooter as an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area.
10To increase preparedness for such an event, many schools now hold active shooter drills for students and their teachers.
11The new report notes the possible harmful effects of such exercises.
12It urges school administrators to look for better ways to make schools safe and to prepare children for an active shooter.
13U.S. Department of Education numbers show how rare gun violence at schools is: Only 0.2 percent of about 36,000 gun deaths a year happen on school grounds.
14But almost all schools hold drills designed to prepare their employees and students for an active shooter. In fact, 40 states require such exercises.
15The report says one problem with the way schools carry out active shooter drills is how much they frighten students.
16When a school fails to inform parents and students about plans for a drill, parents cannot prepare their children, and the children may think that the attack is real.
17In some communities, the report says, schools deploy individuals who are told to act like "masked gunmen."
18Students as young as three or four years old may be told to stay quiet in a small space for a long period of time.
19Experts on mental health say these experiences can have both short- and long-term effects on how well the children behave in school, as well as on their physical and mental health.
20For example, after one drill in New Jersey, an eighth-grade student reportedly said, "I was genuinely not sure if I would finish the day alive."
21Melissa Reeves is a former president of the National Association of School Psychologists.
22She said the drills may "trigger either past trauma or trigger such a... reaction that it actually ends up scaring the individuals instead of better preparing them to respond in these kinds of situations."
23There has been little research on how well the exercises prepare students for an active shooter.
24In 2007, one study found it better to prepare students for an "intruder," rather than a shooter.
25Another study noted the value of announcing drills in advance and following them with discussion.
26Students in that situation felt better prepared to handle possible violence.
27Surprise drills, on the other hand, can result in trauma to children.
28One woman in Arizona described the effect drills at her son's school had on him.
29He started biting his fingernails and "refused to go anywhere alone, even to his room or a bathroom at home," she said.
30Laurel Williams is chief of psychiatry at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.
31She warned about the worry active shooter drills can create in children:
32"It's not clear to them that the drill is not real. The younger the child, the less likely they are to understand that an act of violence is not occurring during a drill."
33Everytown, AFT, and NEA point out that active shooter drills alone will not prevent gun violence.
34Last year the three organizations announced their own plan to end school shootings.
35The plan calls for better laws on keeping guns out of the hands of possibly dangerous people.
36The groups also support raising the age to buy semiautomatic weapons and requiring background checks on gun sales.
37The Everytown plan also includes safer storage of firearms, as children sometimes bring guns from home to school.
38Everytown, AFT, and NEA oppose any shooter drills for students.
39Aside from the trauma they may cause, another reason is to keep any detailed planning among adults secret from students.
40That is because of this troubling fact: almost all mass school shooters are either former or current students who show signs of trouble before the attack.
41The groups instead urge schools to watch for students who may become the next shooter and provide them the social support and mental health care they need.
42I'm Jill Robbins.
1Two years ago this month, a 19-year-old American shot and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Fourteen of the victims were students; the other three were teachers. The gunman was a former student at the high school. 2On this anniversary, as with other anniversaries of school shootings, Americans continue debating how to make sure students are safe in schools. 3On February 11, a group called Everytown for Gun Safety released a report on one method for reducing gun violence at schools in the United States. Everytown is a not-for-profit organization. It joined with two labor unions in writing the report on school safety drills for active shootings. The two are the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA). 4What is an active shooter? 5The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation defines an active shooter as an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area. To increase preparedness for such an event, many schools now hold active shooter drills for students and their teachers. 6The new report notes the possible harmful effects of such exercises. It urges school administrators to look for better ways to make schools safe and to prepare children for an active shooter. 7U.S. Department of Education numbers show how rare gun violence at schools is: Only 0.2 percent of about 36,000 gun deaths a year happen on school grounds. But almost all schools hold drills designed to prepare their employees and students for an active shooter. In fact, 40 states require such exercises. 8Real or not real? 9The report says one problem with the way schools carry out active shooter drills is how much they frighten students. When a school fails to inform parents and students about plans for a drill, parents cannot prepare their children, and the children may think that the attack is real. 10In some communities, the report says, schools deploy individuals who are told to act like "masked gunmen." Students as young as three or four years old may be told to stay quiet in a small space for a long period of time. Experts on mental health say these experiences can have both short- and long-term effects on how well the children behave in school, as well as on their physical and mental health. 11For example, after one drill in New Jersey, an eighth-grade student reportedly said, "I was genuinely not sure if I would finish the day alive." 12Melissa Reeves is a former president of the National Association of School Psychologists. She said the drills may "trigger either past trauma or trigger such a... reaction that it actually ends up scaring the individuals instead of better preparing them to respond in these kinds of situations." 13There has been little research on how well the exercises prepare students for an active shooter. In 2007, one study found it better to prepare students for an "intruder," rather than a shooter. Another study noted the value of announcing drills in advance and following them with discussion. Students in that situation felt better prepared to handle possible violence. 14Surprise drills, on the other hand, can result in trauma to children. One woman in Arizona described the effect drills at her son's school had on him. He started biting his fingernails and "refused to go anywhere alone, even to his room or a bathroom at home," she said. 15Laurel Williams is chief of psychiatry at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. She warned about the worry active shooter drills can create in children: "It's not clear to them that the drill is not real. The younger the child, the less likely they are to understand that an act of violence is not occurring during a drill." 16Other steps are needed 17Everytown, AFT, and NEA point out that active shooter drills alone will not prevent gun violence. Last year the three organizations announced their own plan to end school shootings. The plan calls for better laws on keeping guns out of the hands of possibly dangerous people. The groups also support raising the age to buy semiautomatic weapons and requiring background checks on gun sales. 18The Everytown plan also includes safer storage of firearms, as children sometimes bring guns from home to school. 19Everytown, AFT, and NEA oppose any shooter drills for students. Aside from the trauma they may cause, another reason is to keep any detailed planning among adults secret from students. That is because of this troubling fact: almost all mass school shooters are either former or current students who show signs of trouble before the attack. The groups instead urge schools to watch for students who may become the next shooter and provide them the social support and mental health care they need. 20I'm Jill Robbins. 21Jill Robbins wrote this story for Learning English based on the Everytown/NEA/AFT and U.S. Department of Education reports. George Grow was the editor. 22How do schools in your country prepare students for an emergency (perhaps a natural disaster if not an attack) on school grounds? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. 23_____________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25drill - n. an exercise done to practice military skills or procedures 26psychology - n. the science or study of the mind and behavior 27trigger - n. something that causes something else to happen 28trauma - n. a very difficult or unpleasant experience that causes someone to have mental or emotional problems usually for a long time 29scare - v. frighten, to cause (someone) to become afraid 30intruder - n. a person who is not welcome or wanted in a place 31in advance - n. before something happens