Reader TTS

TODAY’S GUEST BLOG IS WRITTEN BY SONYA HEISTERS, DIRECTOR OF PARTNERSHIPS AND OUTREACH FOR SAN FRANCISCO NONPROFIT YOUTHTRUTH. It was April 20, 1999, and I was a high school junior. Though

generally a compliant student, on this day, I convinced a cute boy from drama class to cut school with me. It felt risky and fun. It felt dangerous. That evening, my 16-year-old definition

of danger was redefined: I watched the news of students just like me massacred at their high school. Maybe avoiding school was the _safest _choice. I’m a parent and an educator now. Years

later, that cute boy became my husband, and we struggle, like all parents, to trust that our children will be safe at school. While more than 226,000 students at 233 schools have experienced

gun violence at school since Columbine—a number that is staggering and unforgivable—the likelihood of being killed by a gun at school still is incredibly low (1 in 614,000,000 by one

estimate). On the 20th anniversary of Columbine, and like the rest of America, I’m thinking about school safety. And as an educator, I feel that the national conversation about gun control,

lock-down drills, and the role of policy, miss the obvious central character: the student. The broad narrative emphasizes shocking events over a more pernicious culture of violence that

trolls the halls of our nation’s schools. We should be talking about individual student perceptions of safety—the unremarkable, statistically common threats of violence that students

experience at school every single day. What do students say? We know that a safe environment is a prerequisite for student learning. But what we may not know, is how safe—or unsafe—students

_feel _in our schools. To shine light on this essential question, the national nonprofit that I now help lead, YouthTruth, released a report that analyzed insights gathered through anonymous

studen- perception surveys from 35,000 secondary students across eight states. Here’s some of what we found: * JUST OVER HALF, 59 PERCENT,OF STUDENTS FEEL SAFE FROM HARM AT THEIR SCHOOL. *

ABOUT 1 IN 3 STUDENTS REPORT THAT STUDENTS GET INTO PHYSICAL FIGHTS AND FEEL THEY MUST BE READY TO DEFEND THEMSELVES. When asked about the prevalence of fights, 37 percent of students report

that fights occur at least somewhat often. * MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE SLIGHTLY MORE LIKELY THAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO OBSERVE PHYSICAL FIGHTS. * STUDENTS WHO IDENTIFY AS BLACK OR

AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARE SLIGHTLY MORE LIKELY THAN THEIR WHITE PEERS TO FEEL THAT THEY MUST BE READY TO FIGHT TO DEFEND THEMSELVES. Forty-one percent of black or African-American students said

that they must be ready to fight to defend themselves, compared with 21 percent of white students. What about parents? We also asked over 9,000 parents and guardians about their perceptions

of safety at their child’s school and found THE MAJORITY OF FAMILY MEMBERS BELIEVE THEIR CHILD IS SAFE FROM VIOLENCE. Seventy-nine percent of elementary parents, 74 percent of middle school

parents, and 72 percent of high school parents feel that their child is safe from violence at school. So, what should we do? We can’t predict the next school shooting, but we can listen to

students and allow their feedback to guide interventions. When students report less favorable ratings of safety than parents do, we need to put student voices first. Here are tips for

gathering student insights: * START WITH SAFE SPACES FOR DIALOGUE. The most actionable way to know if students feel safe is to ask them directly and anonymously. Too often, vulnerable

populations don’t come forward for fear of retaliation. An anonymous student survey is a good place to start. * MAKE EVERY VOICE MATTER. Before focus groups and interviews, hear from as

close to 100 percent of your student population as possible. Clear communication about _why _you’re asking and _what _you’re going to do with the information will help with response rates. *

TEASE OUT WHAT’S WORKING FOR WHOM. Self-identified student demographics such as grade-level, gender identity, race/ethnicity, family income, etc., will enable adults to understand how

safety is going and for whom. * HAVE A QUICK TURNAROUND ON THE FEEDBACK. Data that come back months or years later arer useless as an intervention strategy. * CLOSE THE FEEDBACK LOOP. After

gathering feedback, for heaven’s sake, thank the students for their time and insight. It’s simple: Students must feel safe to learn. As adults, our job is to ensure all children feel safe in

school. Creating a safe space for learning starts with listening to our students. We must prioritize not only listening to our students but also using their input to enact change. _

_CONNECT WITH SONYA ON TWITTER. PHOTO COURTESY OF SHUTTERSTOCK.