Safety Updates in the Aftermath of the Ingraham High Shooting

Updates:

There was a community meeting to talk about student safety solutions last Thursday (this from KOMO news). It was put on by the African American Community Advisory Council for SPD (the location was not in the KOMO story). 

Former school resource officers who were in attendance spoke out about how they would like a chance to return to campuses and building bridges with students.

However, the suggestion to reinstate school resource officers didn’t sit well with many people who took part in the meeting. Some see SROs as a threat and said gun violence on school campuses won't end because an armed officer is present.

Seattle Public Schools unilaterally ended the SRO program in 2020. 

This seems to me the most important comment:

“If you guys really want to learn how to change, continue to talk to your people," said one teenager who declined to state his name. "Continue to talk to the community, and talk to the kids. Ask them what they need.” 

One comment I have beyond asking school communities what THEY want is the issue of "snitching." I read elsewhere that at least 10 other kids knew the 14-year old had a gun. It would be great if the student school board members helped start a campaign that would address this, like "See something, Say Something." 

From David Horsey at The Seattle Times:

Horsey, who attended Ingraham High, recounts flirting with a girl who had a jealous boyfriend:

Within minutes, I saw her boyfriend steaming down the hallway in my direction. He was a jock, an upperclassman and a bit of a hothead. He slammed me up against a locker and told me to stay away from his girlfriend. I quickly agreed that would be a wise course of action. He let me go and that was that.

It was fortunate that the jealous boyfriend who came after me all those years ago did not have a gun, or that I did not have one tucked away in my locker, but, back then, that would have been unthinkable. Now, besides too many firearms, we also have way too many angry young men who have been sucked into believing a macho ethic that will not allow them to ever back down, with revenge required for even the most meaningless slights. 

This is not a moment to panic and go hog wild with security in Seattle’s schools; heavy-handed measures that do little but make the educational environment even more unappealing to students. 

This kind of shooting is still exceedingly rare. We need to redouble our efforts to identify susceptible kids and steer them away from violence, away from guns and toward an understanding that human life is the most precious thing of all.

The Times also had this article, naming the victim of the shooting, 17-year old Ebenezer Haile.

End of update

I want to speak the obvious - student safety at schools is a multi-pronged issue. There is no one thing to be done that will assure student safety. It's things like:

- Neighborhood/region of the city. What does safety look like there, both for crime and public safety getting around? I try to keep up with what is happening in Seattle and I see that it looks like pedestrian deaths seem to be going up. If it's not safe for kids to walk to school, that's a problem. Responsibility? Mostly the City's. 

- The schools; grounds and inside the building. Are there safety issues on school grounds like crappy playgrounds? Are there areas in the interior of middle and high schools that are difficult to keep an eye on? School security officers probably know these areas; maybe the district should ask them. Responsibility: SPS.

- Public attitudes. We need more people than just school communities to advocate for better safety measures around guns. I find it interesting that you have uber Second Amendment supporters who want to "harden" school buildings and all that really has happened is that people seem either numb or "harden" to school shootings. It CANNOT be the norm and no one should accept it.  (And fyi, I believe in the Second Amendment and I don't want to take anyone's guns but I DO want gun owners to register them AND have to have gun training AND have to have insurance.)

Responsibility - everyone. 

Do we think a police officer in every school will help? I guess that depends on what the role is for that officer. I'm not sure everyone will agree on that role. I really would love a student survey on this issue AND have kids tell the district specifics on what they believe happens when there is a police officer in the school. 

I would be willing to bet that if there were a shooter in the school, an officer would have to be able to get to the area, assess the situation, and THEN decide whether to interact. I'd bet most cops would call for help. Because there is the issue that in a hot situation, an officer could mistake a kid running in the halls to be the shooter. 

Superintendent Brent Jones has issued another message to the SPS community about safety in schools. He breaks my eyes with this:

I, and my team, continue to provide additional support to the Ingraham community. Principal Floe will be holding an Ingraham community meeting next week. 

(I know, I know - we're talking about something serious but the messaging coming from SPS is not well-written.)

If there are any Ingraham parents who are going to attend the announced Ingraham community meeting next week, please let us know how it goes.

Safety remains a top priority for all of us at Seattle Public Schools. Keeping our schools secure is part of our daily work.

To which I say - Dr. Jones, you said this after Uvalde.  He said the district was assessing schools for safety. 

And yet, a week after Uvalde, Sand Point Elementary was invaded by a guy who chased 5th graders to their portable classroom where the substitute teacher was nowhere to be found and the kids could not lock the door. The man broke into the room and harassed kids until a nearby teacher got him out of the room. 

So Dr. Jones is saying this new "safety audit" will be better? No one at SPS should say safety is the number one priority if they cannot process documentation that every single building can check off basic safety measures. 

It also would be good to understand what happened at Ingraham High when the teacher of the class the 14-year old was in notified building security of her concerns. But I'll bet we will NEVER get an explanation. 

We all play a role in school safety. You can use the SPS Safe Schools Hotline 206-252-0510 to report any threats to SPS schools. This phone number is managed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Our work to ensure school buildings have updated security systems, entryways, and door locks continues. We have installed new inside locks on more than 4,000 classroom doors across the district. 

We are currently working to add intercoms and cameras at school entryways.  

On that last statement, be aware that it may be harder to get into buildings. 

I also note that the Board voted in their legislative agenda (which means the issues they will advocate for to the Washington State legislature.

The 2023 proposed legislative agenda is focused on the following areas:

• Addressing Funding Gaps in Basic Education

• Supporting Student Learning

• Supporting Student Well-Being

• Providing Stable and Equitable Operations

Now you might guess that perhaps "supporting student well-being" might include safety. Looking at the BAR, it does not. 

President Brandon Hersey also said safety is the number priority of the Board. It would not seem so if this list is what they will go to the Legislature to push.