U.S. parents’ concern for their children’s physical safety at school has risen to its highest point in more than two decades, as 44% of U.S. adults with a child in grades K-12 say they fear for their oldest child’s personal safety at school.
This marks a 10-percentage-point increase in concern since 2019, the last time the question was asked, and is among the highest readings in the 24-year trend.
Gallup’s August 2022 question about school safety does not specifically reference gun violence; however, parents’ fear has spiked in the past after high-profile mass shootings and receded at times when recent school shootings weren’t major news stories.
Parental fear hit its highest point in the trend, 55%, in April 1999, the day after 13 people were killed at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. When parents sent their children back to school that year, fear had fallen to 47%, and by August 2000, it had dropped to 26%.
But in the aftermath of a shooting at Santana High School in Santee, Calif. in March 2001, parents’ concern about school safety surged to 45%. Between 2001 and 2019, readings fluctuated between 15% and 35%. (Gallup did not include this measure in 2020 or 2021 because the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in irregular in-person schooling in many areas of the country.)
K-12 parents’ concern about their children’s safety has risen sharply after the last school year ended with a mass shooting tragedy in Uvalde, Texas. While the rate of parents saying they fear for their children’s safety is higher than the rate of those saying their children have expressed fear to them, both readings are elevated and on the high end of Gallup’s prior findings. Read the full Gallup report here:
Parents Can Play Supporting Role
Parents can play a significant role in helping ensure violence prevention and school security measures are implemented in their child’s school.
To help parents become more involved in securing school campuses, here are five school security steps administrators should share with parents:
- Talk to children about school security. Students are very tuned in to what happens on their campus. They know where there are weak spots in the school security plans. Also talk to them about resolving conflicts in a peaceful, nonviolent manner and about immediately reporting any threatening talk or behavior from other students to school officials.
- Visit the campus and talk with administrators about the school security plan. Among other things, find out how visitors can enter the campus. Ask if the exterior doors and classroom doors are regularly locked and monitored throughout the day. Ask about security drills in place at their school, especially Active Shooter or other emergency lockdown procedures.
- Educate yourself on the security plans, procedures and technologies that are working well. Check other schools in your area to see their security protocols.
- Get to know the law enforcement officials assigned to your child’s school. Find out when they are on campus and what their responsibilities include.
- Join other parents who may also be concerned about the security of their children. Become involved in the PTA or PTO and start a security committee if one does not already exist.
School administrators and teachers cannot be expected to solve the problems of school violence alone. Parents must share the burden. Parents can play a vital role in keeping their children safe at school.
Sources: Gallup Organization, ESchoolNews