Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Are CT schools safer after Sandy Hook?

  • by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas
  • December 11, 2013
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Editor’s Note: In a series of stories this week, The Mirror is looking at how the shooting at Newtown changed Connecticut.

Millions of dollars have been spent in the past year better protecting students from threats coming from outside school buildings.

Since last December, when 26 children and educators were killed in Newtown, at least half of the schools throughout the state have installed new security cameras, shatter-proof glass doors and other security-related upgrades.

And while much of the focus -– and funding -– has been on protecting students from another active shooter, data show that students are more likely to be victims of bullying or involved in a fight with a classmate. Districts have had to find a balance between protecting students from outside threats by hiring security staff and hiring psychologists or other mental health specialists to identify and treat troubled students.

“We prepare for the worst case scenario,” said Jim RichetelliJr., chief operations officer for Milford Public Schools, whose district will receive the most money from the state for security upgrades. Milford will also spend additional money to hire four school-based police officers.

Nationwide, 42 children and educators across the country were killed while at school during the 2010-11 school year, the most recent year for which data is available, the U.S. Department of Education reports. In Connecticut’s public schools, officials identify more than 300 students each year who are victims of bullying; more than 15,000 fights take place and 700 violent crimes happen while students are at school. (See your school’s data and rankings below)

[iframe src=”https://projects.ctmirror.org/content/2013/12/schoolSecurity/” scrolling=”no” width=”100%” frameborder=”0″ height=”815″]

The greater chances of a student being harmed by a classmate than an intruder from outside a school has prompted some educators to call for a shift in the focus on school safety toward the more likely destructive encounters.

Reacting to the governor’s latest round of state funding for schools to upgrade their security equipment, the dean of Quinnipiac University’s School of Education called on the state to also come up with money for anti-bullying programs.

“I strongly encourage the governor to make significant investments in programs that might have prevented incidents such as the Sandy Hook tragedy,” Kevin Basmadjian wrote in a press release shortly after $5 million for security infrastructure was announced. “Some of these might include anti-bullying workshops for teachers, students, administrators, parents and the entire community.”

It’s unclear if Adam Lanza — the troubled 20-year-old responsible for the deadliest K-12 school shooting in U.S. history — was bullied when he attended the school as a child. In the state prosecutor’s final report of the event, some people interviewed recalled that the shooter had been bullied, although many teachers were unable to corroborate this. Both of Lanza’s parents reported that he had been bullied, according to the prosecutor.

Bullying sign

Photo credit: U.S. Department of Education

Regardless, teachers and school administrators are asking for help from the state to address bullying in their schools today, according to a report prepared for state legislators by the State Department of Education this spring.

“Districts are increasing their requests for support,” the department reports. Such requests include more funding so districts can provide training on bullying prevention for staff, students and parents.

Nationwide, 28 percent of students age 12 to 18 reported being the subject of some kind of bullying, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Connecticut state lawmakers in 2011 passed a law that aimed to overhaul districts’ response to bullying by doing the following: broadening the definition to include online interactions among students; requiring schools to set up school safety committees to address problems when they arise; and having the state begin tracking incidents of bullying.

As a result, the education department has reported that the number of reported incidents of bullying has steadily increased over the last several years, although officials say that’s only because of the added attention to the problem.

“By all measures, schools in Connecticut are becoming safer because the focus of their efforts is on improving school climate,” the department reports.

“There is a large and growing body of research that documents the relationships among bullying, school climate and student outcomes,” it reports, concluding that a positive learning environment helps diminish violent and deviant behaviors.

While schools focus on providing a safe environment for students to attend, statistics that can help measure the safety of Connecticut’s public schools show mixed findings. For example, the number of students bringing weapons to school has steadily declined over the last six reported school years, reports the education department. During the 2006-07 school year 1,953 students got in trouble for bringing a weapon to school compared with 1,203 students during the 2011-12 school year –- a 38 percent dip.

However, the number of violent crimes students committed against someone while at school increased from 445 to 765 incidents. And the number of fights has remained steady at about 15,000 a year. (See the year-by-year date here)

There is no consensus among educators in identifying which staff members make the most difference in improving a school’s climate and reducing violent incidents.

“Are social workers better, who can work with families, or are” school-based police officers?, State Board of Education member Charles Jaskiewicz asked during the panel’s meeting this month.

The department’s chief operating officer told him that the jury is still out.

Statewide, schools employ about 3,100 mental health professionals (counselors, social workers and psychologists) compared with about 625 security guards or school-based police officers. These figures remained steady in the 10 years preceding the Sandy Hook shootings, the department reports. However, where a student attends school drastically impacts the presence of security guards or availability of mental health professionals. (See school-by-school data here.)

The governor and education commissioner have both routinely said that local school districts are the ones to decide whom to hire to keep schools safe.

“Schools and districts are stepping up. There has been an emphasis on strengthening schools on both the outside and the inside,” Commissioner Stefan Pryor said this week. “It’s equally important that schools install electronic locking systems for doors and implement positive behavioral interventions and supports for students.”

Meanwhile, the state’s investment has focused on electronic locking systems and other improvements to harden schools from intruders. The state plans to spend $21 million this fiscal year so that 50 percent of the state’s public schools can upgrade these systems.

Included in the legislature’s new post-Sandy Hook law is the requirement that the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services provide training to help each school’s so-called safe school climate coordinator to recognize signs of mental disorders in students and connect them with the necessary professionals.

Lawmakers also passed a bill that requires the Department of Children and Families’ Emergency Mobile Psychiatric Service to collaborate with local school boards and school-based health centers to help better identify children with mental, behavior or emotional issues and to help them access the appropriate treatment program. Funding was not provided to implement this initiative.

“We had security measures, but they needed to be tightened,” said Richetelli, the chief operations officer for Milford schools. “It probably wouldn’t have taken place if not for Sandy Hook.”

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Disability Rights CT files federal complaint over age-based vaccine rollout
by Kelan Lyons

The complaint alleges the state's age-based vaccine distribution plan discriminates against people with disabilities.

People with disabilities were next in line for COVID vaccine. Then the plan changed.
by Kelan Lyons

Younger people with chronic medical conditions feel left behind by the governor's new vaccine plan, which prioritizes by age.

The historical basis of zoning begs for reform
by Lawrence Rizzolo

Discussions of race are fraught with emotion. Witness the zoning reforms being discussed in our legislature. I will attempt to advance a dispassionate argument that is based on government-sponsored racism that occurred during my lifetime and led to the structural problems that persist today.

Lamont must stop waffling on the Killingly power plant issue
by Tennyson Benedict

On January 19, Gov. Ned Lamont gave his bluntest comments yet regarding the controversial Killingly natural gas plant, saying, “I don’t want to build Killingly.”  Yet, Lamont still refuses to wield his executive authority to actually stop its construction, and instead offers vague suggestions that market forces will stop the plant’s construction.

Religious freedom is less than righteousness
by Spencer Hill

The CT Viewpoints opinion “Religious freedom is more than religion” shows just how entrenched is the sincerely held belief that one man’s notion of “freedom” dictates the liberty of others.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion The historical basis of zoning begs for reform
by Lawrence Rizzolo

Discussions of race are fraught with emotion. Witness the zoning reforms being discussed in our legislature. I will attempt to advance a dispassionate argument that is based on government-sponsored racism that occurred during my lifetime and led to the structural problems that persist today.

Opinion Lamont must stop waffling on the Killingly power plant issue
by Tennyson Benedict

On January 19, Gov. Ned Lamont gave his bluntest comments yet regarding the controversial Killingly natural gas plant, saying, “I don’t want to build Killingly.”  Yet, Lamont still refuses to wield his executive authority to actually stop its construction, and instead offers vague suggestions that market forces will stop the plant’s construction.

Opinion Religious freedom is less than righteousness
by Spencer Hill

The CT Viewpoints opinion “Religious freedom is more than religion” shows just how entrenched is the sincerely held belief that one man’s notion of “freedom” dictates the liberty of others.

Opinion To boost economy, state should invest in the ‘last mile’ of broadband connectivity
by Thomas J. Peters, Ph.D

In his budget address on February 10,   Gov. Ned Lamont announced his intent to expand broadband connectivity in Connecticut, an effort to be lauded. Connecticut enjoys a significant competitive advantage for economic development in the Connecticut Education Network (CEN), “ a 2,500 route mile, all optical, high-performance internet network.”

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO