craig staff offers opinions on school safety
by phoebe werner
Due to recent events, the ongoing debate as to whether or not teachers should be in possession of firearms has resparked.
On February 14, in Parkland, Florida, seventeen Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students and faculty were killed in a tragic shooting.
Many victims of this shooting have become advocates for stricter gun control laws, making their voices heard over national news.
Included in this debate is the proposal of arming teachers with firearms.
Based on a Criterion survey, 90.2% of Craig High School’s staff opposes the concept of arming teachers.
On February 14, in Parkland, Florida, seventeen Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students and faculty were killed in a tragic shooting.
Many victims of this shooting have become advocates for stricter gun control laws, making their voices heard over national news.
Included in this debate is the proposal of arming teachers with firearms.
Based on a Criterion survey, 90.2% of Craig High School’s staff opposes the concept of arming teachers.
"Adding guns is going to make a more tense, anxiety-filled classroom experience that will negatively affect all students, let alone those who have suffered a traumatic experience,” stated an anonymous CHS staff member.
Along with this, other faculty members have stressed their concerns that the presence of firearms would increase the amount of accidents, leading to an unsafe learning environment.
On March 13, at Northern California High School, during a public safety class, teacher, Dennis Alexander, accidentally discharged a firearm, injuring a student.
“I feel it increases the risk of accidents and will personally make me feel less safe for a variety of reasons; accidental shooting, theft of weapons, an unwarranted feeling of empowerment, profiling, and distrust of the carrier,” voiced another anonymous Craig staff member.
Another member went as far as saying that he or she would no longer work at Craig if the school took the initiative to arm faculty.
Along with this, other faculty members have stressed their concerns that the presence of firearms would increase the amount of accidents, leading to an unsafe learning environment.
On March 13, at Northern California High School, during a public safety class, teacher, Dennis Alexander, accidentally discharged a firearm, injuring a student.
“I feel it increases the risk of accidents and will personally make me feel less safe for a variety of reasons; accidental shooting, theft of weapons, an unwarranted feeling of empowerment, profiling, and distrust of the carrier,” voiced another anonymous Craig staff member.
Another member went as far as saying that he or she would no longer work at Craig if the school took the initiative to arm faculty.
It appears that the Craig faculty has come to the conclusion that increasing the amount of firearms in the school is not the solution to increasing student safety.
Instead, 52.2% agreed that increasing psychological funding for counselors would ultimately lead to a safer school environment because counselors would be able to detect signs of depression in students and help those who are in need of support.
“With all of the pressures and outside stressors on students, along with school pressures we need to make sure our school is able to provide the support and counseling needed to work through it all,” stated an anonymous CHS faculty member.
Craig High School currently has one social worker and psychologist on staff, but according to one staff member, that may be insufficient.
“One school social worker and one school psychologist are not enough for a student population of 1,700,” said the staff member.
CHS faculty needs to be able to mentally support its students and staff to minimize the possibilities of instability within the school that could potentially lead to harmful incidents.
It appears that the Craig faculty has come to the conclusion that increasing the amount of firearms in the school is not the solution to increasing student safety.
Instead, 52.2% agreed that increasing psychological funding for counselors would ultimately lead to a safer school environment because counselors would be able to detect signs of depression in students and help those who are in need of support.
“With all of the pressures and outside stressors on students, along with school pressures we need to make sure our school is able to provide the support and counseling needed to work through it all,” stated an anonymous CHS faculty member.
Craig High School currently has one social worker and psychologist on staff, but according to one staff member, that may be insufficient.
“One school social worker and one school psychologist are not enough for a student population of 1,700,” said the staff member.
CHS faculty needs to be able to mentally support its students and staff to minimize the possibilities of instability within the school that could potentially lead to harmful incidents.
I do not want the responsibility of firing a gun to keep my students safe in a dangerous situation. I am though, happy to be armed with the knowledge and expertise required to keep students emotionally safe.-Anonymous CHS Faculty Member
Another way to increase the buildings security, would be to obtain metal detectors, a greater police presence, door security, etc. 31.5% of CHS faculty believed that this would be an effective way to improve student safety, based off of recent survey results.
Multiple staff members brought attention to the lack of door security. Students let others in during passing periods, the doors aren’t always fully closed, and coaches keep doors open for athletes, leaving the school open for anyone to enter.
Some staff believed that utilizing student ID’s would tremendously increase school safety because though students have IDs, they don’t always use them. Creating a key card system would prevent an intruder from getting into the school. Though, metal detectors and school counselors would be a more effective way of preventing violence from an internal source.
We need to work together to prevent the possibility of a shooter before it happens.-Anonymous CHS Faculty Member
In conclusion, the majority of Craig High School’s staff is against arming their teachers and are for improving the buildings security and psychological funding.
One anonymous staff members said that he or she does “not want the responsibility of firing a gun to keep my students safe in a dangerous situation. I am though, happy to be armed with the knowledge and expertise required to keep students emotionally safe.”
All in all, the majority of Craig’s staff do not see arming teachers to be the answer to a safer learning environment. Rather, most believe an increase in psychological resources and building security would be a step in the right direction to safeguard Craig High School from violence.