School Under Siege

“…. School under siege….â€?  Crawling across the bottom of our television screens, this message made the hearts of parents and grandparents stop across the United States.  “Is it my child’s school?â€?  “My grandchild’s?â€?  “How many more victims of terrorism will our nation sacrifice?â€?  “How could innocent children be targeted?â€?

When details emerged and the location of the school in Russia became known, a sense of relief rushed by just as quickly.  “My child is safe.â€?  “I don’t have to worry.â€?  “It happened over there somewhere.â€?  “Such an incident couldn’t happen here.â€?

Or could it?  The troubling question regarding the incident is whether something like it could happen in the United States.  And the “reality checkâ€? answer to this question is, “yes, it can happen here.â€?  Our schools are not immune to such attacks, and anyone who thinks otherwise needs a “reality checkâ€? regarding the security of our schools.

Reality check one:  Not only could such an attack happen here; the reality is that such attacks have already happened here.  Incidents such as Jonesboro, Columbine, and the Washington, D.C., sniper shooting which targeted a middle school could be considered terrorist attacks.  When one compares the goals of terrorists to the goals of the perpetrators of these incidents, similarities emerge.  Terrorists and those who have been responsible for school violence incidents appear to have little regard for the lives of those they target.  Much like what has been learned about the terrorists responsible for the September 11th  incidents, the shooters in incidents which target schools were motivated at least in part by a hatred of those around them.

Reality check two:  Schools in the United States would be better prepared for a terrorist attack than those in Russia.  While we would certainly like to think our schools are better prepared for terrorism, the reality is that most schools have not taken steps to deal with such.  In a 2003 survey of school resource officers conducted by the National Association of School Resource Officers, three-quarters of the respondents said they felt their schools were not adequately prepared to respond to a terrorist attack.  

Reality check three:  There is nothing a school can do to protect itself from a terrorist attack.   While the reality is that a terrorist attack can happen anywhere in our communities, schools may present themselves as easy targets with their open-door policies.  Because of this, schools need to develop plans that attempt to mitigate their vulnerabilities by thinking through how to enhance physical security and heighten awareness of threats that might present themselves.  Schools cannot accomplish these tasks on their own, but can work with local, state, and federal authorities to assist them with identifying weaknesses, enhancing strengths, and heightening awareness.

Reality check four:  All schools are equally at risk for terrorist attacks.  The reality is that some schools, because of their locations, are more likely to be targets.  Schools can help to determine this likelihood by performing a vulnerability assessment to determine if they are located near other possible targets such as government buildings.

Reality check five:  Terrorists would not attack innocent children to further their cause.  The reality is that we have seen that not only are children easy targets for terrorists, they are very enticing targets for terrorists. 

Reality check six:  Duct tape and plastic sheets are the answer for toxic airborne terrorist attacks.  While duct tape and plastic sheets could help in securing a location for a “shelter in place,â€? the reality is that they are not sufficient substitutes for a well-maintained heating and air conditioning ventilation system.  Schools should inspect ductwork for cracks and should know how to shut down air supply systems should that be necessary.  School systems should invest in proper filtration systems.  

Reality check seven:  Products and supplies entering the school could be targeted.  The reality is that schools need to protect their food supplies, and check all packages upon delivery.  Students should not be responsible for opening a school’s mail.  One or two people should be responsible for opening mail and should be trained in how to spot suspicious packages.  Food stored in external freezers should be secured, and unanticipated deliveries should be verified.  When deliveries arrive on campus, they should be inspected before staff accepts delivery.  Delivery or loading dock entries to school buildings should be secured and kept locked unless they are being supervised. 

Reality check eight:  Schools need to rewrite their crisis plans to compensate for terrorist attacks.  The reality is that most schools need to update their plans, but they do not need to completely rewrite their plans.  Remember the response to a terrorist attack need not be different from that of a school shooting or chemical release.  Those schools that have not currently planned for these types of incidents should do so, and they should create a plan that is multi-hazard in its approach.   

Reality check nine:  Schools cannot over prepare for terrorist attacks.  The reality is that although most schools do not fall into this category, there is always the possibility that a school will “hardenâ€? itself to the detriment of its mission.  A school must focus on its mission which is to educate students.  Some schools create plans that are overly complicated and distract staff and students from the school’s mission of education.  Schools should make every attempt to keep their plans as simple as possible.

Reality check ten:  Local law enforcement will protect schools from attack.  The reality is that local law enforcement cannot be everywhere protecting everyone every minute.  Schools need to be ready to respond to a critical incident, and as part of this response, they need to be ready to work with local law enforcement once officers arrive on the scene should an incident occur.

With everything that schools are faced with today, should preventing a terrorist attack be a high priority?  One need only imagine an attack on a school in the United States and the answer “yesâ€? becomes obvious.  The reality is that our schools can be targets of terrorists.  Yet, as part of comprehensive safe school planning, schools can address the prevention, intervention, and crisis response needed to secure themselves and reduce the likelihood of attack.  Schools can accomplish this by examining how vulnerable they are in terms of campus vulnerabilities, community vulnerabilities, and resource vulnerabilities:

Campus Vulnerabilities.  Schools can determine vulnerabilities on the school campus, such as gas lines, transformers, boilers, and chemical storage areas, and secure them from tampering. Terrorists will often limit the materials they have to carry by using on-site resources. 

Schools also need to control access to their buildings both during school hours and during off hours.  Monitoring who comes and goes, knowing who has been inside the school and when, and allowing only those who have a reason to be in the school to be in the school minimizes the opportunities for the school’s security to be compromised.

Community Vulnerabilities.  Schools can determine those things in the community, such as government buildings, power plants, airports, chemical or biological hazardous material storage, major interstates, and railroads, that put them at risk.  Schools do not have to be targets of an attack to be affected by an attack.  School officials need to work with local emergency management officials to determine if special protocols are needed to react to any of the dangers posed by the presence of potential targets nearby.  

Resource Vulnerabilities.  Finally, schools can identify key resources which need to be part of an effective response to an attack, such as communication devices and electricity. If one of these key functions is lost, how will the school compensate for their loss?  What back-up systems are necessary?  What will staff do?  How will the school respond in the first minutes, hours, days?  How will the school recover?

While assessing vulnerabilities and taking into account the realities of today’s dangerous world will not 100 percent guarantee the security for our schools, taking no action 100 percent guarantees the vulnerability of our schools.  By reality checking our schools, we reality check ourselves.  We mitigate the likelihood that the next crawl across our television screens will be a school in the United States.  There is some comfort, not 100 percent comfort, but some comfort in that.