According to Idaho State Journal, “In the last month, well over a dozen schools in Idaho have faced school threats.” This brings up a lot of concerns about safety in our schools. Consequently many schools in idaho are taking direct action to make their schools safer. For example, Caldwell High School has banned backpacks on campus.

Our school district is also implementing changes to make our schools safer. One safety concern is our entrances.

“Each school in the district is going to be undergoing secure entrance remodels in addition to enhancing security features to other entrances in school buildings,” assistant principal Shannon Lance said.  

The administration has also undergone training  with local law enforcement on how to handle worst-case situations at school.  

Many schools have discussed the idea of arming teachers and a local middle school school, Blackfoot Charter Community Learning Center, has posted a sign outside their school that they have armed teachers.  Administration at Blackfoot has not made any moves towards arming teachers. If the school were to arm teachers most people agree that those teachers should be trained.

“If teachers had guns I would like them to be trained and go through a class and have to pass an assessment,” James Cannon said (11).  

Something students can do to make our schools safer is to take lockdown drills seriously.  The best way to handle a worst-case scenario is to be prepared beforehand and lockdown drills help students and staff to do that.

“We want to be prepared and know exactly how to react if something was ever to happen,” Lance said.  “In order for this to be a reality we must practice it (lockdowns) correctly.”

“When we do have a drill like a lockdown, we need to take it more seriously because you never know when it’s real and when it’s not,” Rylie Moore said (12).