A Deadly National Trend: How to Protect Your Kids from Shooting Tragedies in Mass Schools
School shootings continue to rise across the country, but New England districts are taking new steps to prevent these tragedies.
Boston 25 took a closer look at schools in Massachusetts to analyze how they are improving security.
Security consultant Todd McGhee has been working with Marie Philips Elementary School in Framingham for years, installing new security measures that are often overlooked.
Unsuspecting monitors and clocks throughout the school easily obscure critical messaging systems that can provide alerts in the event of an emergency.
“Short, quick communication so the community isn’t left wondering what the heck is going on,” McGhee explains.
McGhee has been a Mass. for many years. State Trooper and now consults with critical infrastructure such as airports, stations and schools on how to best protect the people within them.
Marie Philips Primary School is just one school on the campus of the Learning Center for the Deaf.
While their challenges are different than those of other schools, McGhee believes they are a model for what schools across Massachusetts will soon do.
“We don’t want to fortify the schools where it looks like Fort Knox,” McGhee said. “This is just a great example of how we’ve leveraged low-level technology to fulfill a real security function.”
Some additional changes McGhee installed were interior crash bars for doors, thumb locks, connecting chambers and protective mesh in windows.
McGhee even showed off construction paper to block door windows that looked into classrooms.
He added: “Criminals are lazy. So if they don’t see an opportunity, they move on.”
The security consultant also installed panic buttons throughout the campus to notify police of an emergency as quickly as possible.
“With the push of a button, we can lock down the campus,” McGhee told Boston 25. “There are messages that go straight to text messages on cell phones, on desktops, on laptops, and also notify law enforcement .”
McGhee has analyzed dozens of schools and says most are not as up to date as Marie Philips Elementary.
“We’re not moving at the pace I would like to see,” McGhee added, referring to statewide school safety.
These changes at home come in the wake of yet another school shooting.
Two students and two teachers were killed at Apalachee High School in Georgia.
CNN reports that there have already been 76 school shootings in the US in November. The country is on pace to surpass any other year in history. (US school shootings: Fast facts | CNN)
About a third of these shootings took place on primary and secondary school grounds.
While McGhee focused on security defense, Dr. Ron Kessler examined the mental health crisis in adults and adolescents across the country.
Kessler is a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School. He studies mental disorders in adults and how they develop in children.
“The health care system in America is broken,” Kessler told Boston 25. “A lot of these kids, the majority of these kids, aren’t getting help.”
Kessler fears that disruptive, loud students get the most guidance in our classrooms — often not the ones who need it most.
Kessler asked, “How do you feel about that little boy, that quiet little boy who lives in extreme pain?” Who is going to act against themselves or against others?”
He claims that common mental disorders usually begin around the age of 13.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education provides mental health professional development for districts throughout Massachusetts.
As stated on their website, professional learning communities (PLCs) “provide educators with guidance and support in building comprehensive school mental health systems that meet the holistic needs of students.”
A complete list of state programs for all districts can be found: (https://www.doe.mass.edu/sfs/mental-wellness/)
Parents in Dedham told us they hope to see improvements in mental health and safety across all Massachusetts counties.
“It’s a huge concern,” said Daniel Mongeon, a parent of a Dedham Middle School student. “He said, ‘Well, we have an exercise today, an active shooter exercise.’ And it is presented as very normal. That is worrying.”
McGhee urged districts to create transparency and easy communication to protect their students.
He ended with, “You build trust and rapport with me as a parent while my children, while my child goes to school.”
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education also offers national resources that you can find: Support for Mental and Behavioral Health and Wellness – Support for Students and Families (SFS)
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