Since 2012, there have been more than 240 school shootings across the U.S.
Protecting students and teachers from attacks requires careful planning and smart strategies for deterring shooters, sheltering classrooms, and preparing everyone for what to do in the event of an attack.
If you’re looking for more ways that you can keep your school safe, check out these 5 essential classroom safety tips.
1. Place Your Teaching Spot Out of Eye-Sight of the Door
Many teachers would gladly put themselves in the line of danger in order to protect their students. But in the event that a school intrusion does occur, protecting the teacher in each classroom should be a priority.
That teacher will organize students, keep them calm, give them instructions, and perhaps even protect them if an attacker does make it into a classroom.
If a teacher’s natural teaching position within a classroom is directly in sight of the door, they may never get a chance to do that.
Encouraging teachers to arrange their classroom in a way that keeps them out of sight of the door can help protect them. If you’re on a low floor with classroom windows that might give an attacker a view in, use posters or other decoration to obstruct it.
2. Create a Barrier
Just because you aren’t putting your teachers directly in front of the door doesn’t mean that your students should be either.
But when classrooms are standard rectangles or squares, it can be tough to position your seats and teaching area in a way that doesn’t put someone in direct view of the door.
Bookshelves, filing cabinets, and other common classroom furniture can be used to create a simple barrier that blocks the view of the classroom from the door and could even slow down an attacker that does get in.
3. Find a Way to Barricade Your Door During an Emergency
While setting up a blockade may slow down an intruder, it won’t stop them. You’ll also want to barricade doors in the event of an attack.
Some tips on classroom safety suggest using heavy furniture to block a door. But that doesn’t help when trying to figure out how to barricade a door that opens out.
Luckily, there are plenty of tools out there that can help you reinforce your door to keep an attacker out. Learn more about how to barricade a door quickly and easily here.
Local security companies will also be able to help you put other tools to work to protect your schools, like alarms, cameras, and more.
4. Prepare Students Ahead of Time
It can be tempting to shelter young students from the dangers of the world. But doing so will not help them in the event that an attack does happen in your school.
Preparing students and teaching them what they should do in the event of an attack is just as important as running fire or tornado drills.
It’s important to get all of your teachers and staff on the same page about how to approach the subject. This will help to ensure that students are getting the information they need to protect themselves, without overexposing them.
5. Establish Meet-up Points
In case students and teachers are able to escape a school during an attack, it’s important to have a meet-up location established.
This can help prevent even more confusion, and make it easier for teachers and administrators to take a head account and determine who might be missing.
Putting Classroom Safety Tips to Work
Any of the classroom safety tips on this list can help administrators, teachers, and staff better prepare for an attack on their school.
If your school is thinking about taking safety one step further by arming your teachers and staff, click here to learn what to look for when searching for a gun safety course.