Dear Wicomico County Board of Education, Schools should be a safe place for all students and staff. However, the increasing number of active shooters are threatening and changing school security all over the United States, including Wicomico County. As this is an ongoing problem, we need to create stronger school safeguards to prevent our schools from a terrible disaster. Throughout an academic day, hundreds of students travel through the school hallways to get to their classes, not knowing if a classmate next to them is armed or not. Every student should not have to worry about their safety in a school, which is the number one priority of the school administrators. In order to achieve school safety, we will need to enforce stronger school safeguards to ensure the safety of all students and staff. As …show more content…
After the Columbine shooting in 1999, schools installed metal detectors and shifted restrooms away from entryways (Chavez, Elassar). It is great that schools are taking action after a terror happens, but metal detectors are not the way to increase school safety. If teachers are able to hold guns, students have to walk through a metal detector everyday, surveillance cameras are watching every move, and police officers are standing at every corner, children are going to think school is a violent place where violence is expected to occur (Warnick, Johnson, Rocha). School will end up to be exactly like prison, creating a harsh environment for students. As source C illustrates, aisle 1 has school supplies like backpacks, notebooks, and markers while aisle 2 has whistles, pepper spray, and tasers. Parents and students are increasingly aware of the unsafe environment of schools, so they want to prepare for the worst. However, if Wicomico County Schools practice shooting drills without warning, students will take them more seriously than if it is announced that there will be a