School Safety  by Jess Nasser

I teach at the New York State School for the Deaf located in Rome, New York. After fourteen years of teaching, something is now troubling me. As I have gotten older and wiser, I have become concerned about the lack of security in our building. Safety should never cross my mind while teaching, but now it does.  Times are changing for the worse. All schools should be protecting both students and staff.

If the school can’t protect us and I am not allowed to do so on my own, what recourse do I have? I reported my concerns to my union representative and I am hoping they will put safety first. Without safety I cannot educate.

After the latest shooting in Minnesota, where the gun person admitted they were targeting children in a ‘gun free zone’, it really made me think about the abundance of mindless hate in this world.  At my school, students are Deaf and obviously are not going to hear the gun shots. These students and staff need extra protection because they are even more vulnerable than the general education population.

Metal detectors and an armed guard should be present in all schools regardless if they are public or state run, like mine. 

Recently, I went to my local county building to help my husband sign up for a pistol permit and that place is guarded like it’s the White House. All measures to protect our county employees are in place, yet we don't do the same for our children? Since they don’t let the teachers carry their own weapons to protect themselves - and most importantly our youth - every school should have metal detectors and armed guards. No exceptions.

It is always better to be safe than sorry.