WASHINGTON (TNND) — In the wake of a tragic mass shooting at a Minneapolis church, school safety expert Dr. Ken Trump said there are unique challenges faced by faith-based educational settings.
“The most important thing is while we say be aware and prepared, but not scared, but most of all have those conversations,” Trump said.
One key aspect of maintaining safety is to make sure to confirm who has access control in church-like settings, especially when there are different types of people, such as students, parishioners and parents in the same room. It is also important to train students for a lockdown or evacuation, specifically at the church.
“That is something that our well-intended educators have not thought through,” Trump said.
Access control is important because the Minneapolis police chief said at least one door was blocked outside the church by a 2-by-4.
Even knowing how to lock the doors, I did a tabletop exercise in one school where we spent about ten minutes, where the staff was just talking. After my initial question about how do you physically lock the door with the key by pushing up, certain, slides? How do you physically lock the door? Was a question that went on for minutes. So you have to have these conversations as school staff, particularly when you have unique settings like a faith-based, site that is different from a public school,independent school, or other type of typical school setting because it’s a very unique environment,” Trump said.
“Oftentimes it gets pushed to the back burner,” Trump added. “Because people just don’t want to have the conversation.”
As the back-to-school season just kicked off, Trump said there are necessary steps for administrators to keep a safe school environment. This includes monitoring children for healthy emotional and mental wellness.
“Make sure you’re looking at day-to-day school safety issues with bullying, aggressive behavior,” Trump said.
It is also important to have open communication with kids about these conversations to relieve their anxieties, as frightening as it is, he added.
It’s about communication, putting things in context. Decreasing anxiety, ambiguity and uncertainty. And you start by having some shared understanding, some conversations and making sure that you’re supporting kids and know that somebody is there for them when they have a concern,” Trump said.