Violence in schools, closer than we think

BY: ABBIE B.

On August 29th of 2018, an alleged bomb threat was made towards London City Schools. Although, the threat was said to not be credible by London City Police, concerns were raised when students on social media were indicating that violence was supposed to be taking place at the school, the next day. Threats in schools are taken more seriously now after all the violence in schools within the last few years. A study done by CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey showed that about 6% of students had not gone to school at least one day during the thirty days before the survey was taken because they felt unsafe while at school.

While interviewing Mr. Michael Bute, the current principal at West Jefferson High School, we had discussed a few questions regarding the precautions we take as a school to prevent this from happening. When speaking to the principal, he had stated that West Jefferson takes their threats “seriously and would work with the local police department to investigate any threats made.”

When speaking with Mr. Bute about preventative measures taken to ensure our students safety, he gave a list of all that we do to keep a safe environment for every member of the community. “We keep doors locked, the new door buzzer system installed, signs hung all around reminding students to not allow anyone in the building during school hours, monthly emergency drills, and an increase in police presence in the building” along with others.

As far as the procedures that the staff and students must follow for any given drill, Mr. Bute explained that, “it is important the teachers explain the procedures for the different types of emergencies.” Mr. Bute also added when speaking about the safety procedures, “practicing the monthly emergency drills to train yourself on what to do in an actual emergency” is what we can do in order to help our own safety. Being compared to other school districts and their safety procedures, we share many similarities.

Although we were not able to contact the principal of London High School and ask him about their safety procedures and preventative measures, most Ohio schools have similar drills and, as far as we can tell, the precautions the principal of London High School did, are the same procedures West Jefferson Schools would have done in that similar situation.