MILTON, Vt. (WCAX) – The school year has just begun, and according to Education Week, there have already been nine school shootings in the country. The rise in gun violence on school campuses was just part of the reason legislators decided the state needed to have a standardized plan to respond to emergencies.
But just because we have one, doesn’t mean all parents are confident.
“It’s kind of new practices, and I’m hoping the drills [help], and they’ll take this experience and feedback and learn from it and progress so that we can feel comfortable in the future,” said Milton mom Crystal Gingras.
Gingras’ daughter safely graduated from high school in 2018. Her youngest is now in second grade, and after an email she received from the administration about a threat last week, she’s weary.
“It’s just scary to think about. You’re entrusting your student to these people, and you want to make sure they’re taking care of them as you would take care of them,” said Gingras.
Parents in the Milton High School Library and on Zoom voiced many concerns. Gingras says the admin needs to improve on communication and that the email they sent didn’t say whether or not the threat was resolved. But, the Milton school administration discovered the threat, no violence occurred, and they used the plans outlined in the new school safety law to respond accordingly.
“The difference between those events that are proactively addressed versus tragedies is usually because the person who knew something didn’t feel they could use their voice or speak up,” said Milton High School Principal Scott Sivo.
The Milton School District says they are prioritizing trusted communication with their students, and that’s just one part of the program.
The school safety law requires all schools to run drills twice a year, have hazard plans in place for every district, form access control and visitor management policies, create behavior threat assessment teams, and form groups to study and present recommendations for harassment and discrimination in schools.
“It’s very scary, especially for educators who aren’t trained in how to respond to critical incidents, right we’re trained to educate students, so this partnership is particularly important,” said Superintendent Amy Rex.
As teachers continue to train how to better conduct drills and assess threats, parents hope in the ever-changing landscape of potential emergencies that they learn fast.
“If it unfortunately becomes a real incident, at that time they will be able to do everything in their power to keep children safe,” said Gingras.
The Agency of Education with the Vermont School Safety Center will write a report on the status of the law’s implementation on or before January 15th.