Survey reveals many teachers worry about possibility of a shooting happening at their school

WASHINGTON — School shootings remain a major concern for K-12 teachers.

“We ended up making the news because we had smart people who acted fast. But we could have made the news are very, very different reasons. If people hadn’t acted when they did,” said Adena Barnette-Miller, school teacher.

Adena Barnette-Miller is a teacher in West Virginia. Two years ago, she said a student had a gun on the school bus full of kids.

“If it wasn’t for smart thinking students, one of whom texted their mom who was in the building as well. And another very smart student who just he you know, just use some common sense and got that gun out of the student’s hand. think could have been very, very different,” said Barnette-Miller.

She said she’s grateful no one got hurt but then the incident revealed another concern.

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“The thought of there only being one door between them, their classmates, and someone who had some bad intent with a gun. It still takes my breath away,” she said.

And she isn’t the only one with that feeling.

A new Pew Research Center survey shows a majority of K-12 teachers say they’re worried about the possibility of a shooting at their school. It also reveals nearly a quarter of them were on lockdown last year because of a gun on campus.

When it comes to prevention, the survey found about 30 percent of teachers say their schools have done an excellent job preparing them for an active shooter. Another 30 percent say their schools have done a good job with preparation.

Barnette-Miller said her school practices a series of different drills.

“This most recent scenario that we practiced when half the school was on lunch, about what you do when half the school is in a big common space so we’re constantly thinking about what those different scenarios look like,” she said.

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Some states are taking another approach. The Tennessee Senate just passed a bill that would allow public school teachers to carry handguns in the classrooms.

Republicans say teachers would have to meet a series of requirements first.

“They must go through a background check. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will be conducting that, as well as fingerprinting,” said Sen. Paul Bailey, (R) Tennessee State Senate. “They have to do a psychological evaluation and they have to have a minimum of 40 hours of training alongside school resource officers.”

When it comes to preventing school shootings, most teachers say improving mental health screenings and treatment is key. About half of them say having police officers or armed security in schools would be helpful too.

The survey shows only about 13 percent of teachers believe allowing educators and administrators to carry guns on campus would effective. While seven-in-ten say it would not.

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