Giving Compass' Take:

• A recent survey conducted by the UCLA Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access revealed that principals' chief concern is addressing school gun violence and ensuring a safe school environment every day. 

• The author mentions a practical approach to school safety is through a relationship-centered model that includes counselors, psychologists, and social workers to help address root problems relating to school gun violence. How can donors help schools gain capacity for this approach?

• Read about why some experts believe that school safety is based on emotional health. 

In the years between the school shootings in Columbine and Parkland, according to one analysis by Washington Post reporters John Woodrow Cox and Steven Rich, there were shootings at 193 schools, affecting more than 187,000 enrolled students.

That reality is evident in a new nationally representative  survey of 505 high school principals conducted by the UCLA Institute for Democracy, Education and Access, which I direct. In the survey, high-school principals from California to Connecticut said the threat of gun violence “has captured the most attention,” represents the “largest stress,” and poses the “gravest concerns.” In the words of one principal, “it’s probably the first thing I think of every morning and every night. You know, God forbid, but, what if.”

Two decades after Columbine, principals say they spend more time addressing problems associated with the threats of gun violence than any other challenge they currently face. Not only must they respond to threats on social media or incidents that require investigation and follow up, almost all principals report talking with students in an effort to reduce concerns and working to connect students with counseling or other services.

Principals are also deeply engaged in efforts to prevent school shootings, with most focused on efforts to “harden” and secure their campuses.

A system of safe and relationship-centered schools is best achieved through a public health model that emphasizes integrated systems and supports that promote safety and locate and address problems at their source. Such a plan should also ensure that schools have the counselors, psychologists and social workers needed to identify students in need of counseling and provide mental health services, and consider reasonable strategies aimed at restricting access to the most dangerous and destructive weapons.

Read the full article about school principles concerned about gun safety by John Rogers at EdSource.