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Project Protection

School Security After 9/11

By Shel Franco

• Develop a command structure for responding to a crisis. The roles and responsibilities for educators, law enforcement and fire officials and other first responders in responding to different types of crisis need to be developed, reviewed and approved.

• Return to the business of teaching and learning as soon as possible.
• Identify and approve a team of credentialed mental health workers to provide mental health services to faculty and students after a crisis. Understand that recovery takes place over time and that the services of this team may be needed over an extended time period.
• Ensure the team is adequately trained.
• The plan needs to include notification of parents on actions that the school intends to take to help students recover from the crisis.

It's certainly a mouthful and enough to keep the school administrators and public officials plenty busy. In the meantime, it might leave parents wondering how all this attention and activity surrounding terrorism and schools might be affecting the kids.

"I don't think my son is old enough to understand what's going on," says Zeiders. "I ask about it, and I'm always willing to answer questions, but he truly doesn't seem bothered."

Marie Harris'* son is much older, and he's perfectly able to comprehend the magnitude of filing into the hallways and keeping away from doors and windows. "It doesn't really bother me," says 13-year-old Anthony*, whose Orlando, Fla., middle school holds about 1000 students. "It's no big deal."

And my son? The newest push for school security hasn't affected him nearly as much as it has affected me. To him tornado drills, fire drills, security cameras and locked doors are as much a part of kindergarten as story time and snack.

*Names have been changed to protect privacy.