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A nightmare for a school community is a critical violent situation that results in student or staff injury or death. One cannot help be concerned with reports of recent weeks regarding violent acts that are occurring in schools across our nation.

Events such as plotting a bomb attack, or fatally wounding a principal in Wisconsin or most recently, a gunman barricading himself in an Amish school and killing five young girls. It is hard to explain all the factors behind such situations but schools must be as prepared as possible for such events.

Chisago Lakes Area Schools have crisis plans that have been developed with the best input from local, state and federal agencies. We practice implementing our plans, but the experts say there is no 100 percent way to guarantee that an outsider, or worse yet, a student or staff member, won’t be able to commit such acts.

“There’s no perfect security, from the White House to the schoolhouse,” said Kenneth Trump, president of the National School Safety and Security Services consulting firm in Cleveland.

He further comments that schools have improved their preparation and prevention efforts but school authorities can’t do it alone.

Schools must work to create an environment that is supportive of all students’ academic, emotional, physical and social development.

At CLHS, we have strong programming in these areas. What seems to be missing from the media coverage, however, are other stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities.

A missing link in the school violence prevention story is what parents can do. Along with the school staff and programs, parents are an integral component to school safety. The following are three areas in which parents can help:

• Teaching children: Parents are the most influential teachers of their children. Assisting them in developing nonviolent, coping strategies is vital. Discuss school rules and policies with your child with the understanding that all organizations have rules and limits. Also, it is extremely important that parents talk to their children about the violence in the media. Be aware of what they are watching, listening to and what violent games they are playing.

• Recognize signs: The Dept. of Defense guide for parents states parents are usually the first ones to recognize the warning signs of violent behavior: bullying, angry outbursts, defying rules, etc. Keep open lines of communication with your student and listen to them and their needs.

• Getting involved: Research tells us that students with involved parents and families are less likely to engage in anti-social behavior. This can take the form of volunteering at your child’s school to getting to know the parent’s of your child’s friends.

Schools with community agencies along with strong parental action can work together to prevent tragic school violence. It’s not to be the sole burden of the schools to protect our children. We must all take our roles extremely seriously and do our part. The best reactionary plans do not take the place of solid preventative plans.

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