Article on school safety

There was a very good article on school safety and the good work and collaboration of school districts and the Imperial County Office of Education.

I just wanted to add something to the mix for parents and students. Based on what I read about the Florida shooting, there were many indicators of the perpetrator’s intentions before the incident. It is very important for parents or peers to pay attention to “leakage.” This is when potential aggressors leak information about their thoughts and feelings in writings, the internet or conversations.

Most, if not all, shooters tell someone. If you notice pictures, plans, or even just angry rants, said, written down, or even drawn in pictures, contact school and law enforcement authorities.

It is hard to prevent bad things, but “all evil needs to triumph, is for good men to do nothing,” but if you’re not sure what to do, it is better to speak up than be sorry.

There are people in schools, law enforcement, and most human service agencies, that have training to help or get an intervention going, and you need to make a call, and maybe two of them.

We need more training and teamwork with parents, families and friends. The same is true for suicide prevention. If the media continues to collaborate in prevention activities, we can keep our children safe. Nice article and good job by security folks at ICOE and schools. JIM SHINN El Centro