The most available way to call for help
Posted by Judy Breck on October 11, 2007
In media accounts of crises that occur in schools, usually there is a line or two something like this:
In calls to 911, students described Mr. Coon as 5 foot 5, white and “kind of chubby.”
The above line is from the New York Times article today about the school shooting yesterday in Cleveland. The report also includes this description of the scene at the school:
Mychael said she darted down a flight of stairs before hiding with five other students in a classroom on the third floor. After several minutes, the group, sobbing, decided to sprint down the rest of the stairs, she said.
Looking at these reports from a school safety perspective in the 21st century, we can be sure that the kids who called 911 did not go to a phone booth or use a landline at all. The most immediate way to share information electronically within and from a school today is by using the phones that staff, teachers and students carry. Using this new way to effect safety can both prevent trouble and protect young people and those responsible for their care.
