Dear Community Members,
Again, I am reaching out with a heavy heart to share resources after another senseless and devastating school shooting. I want to extend my deepest sympathies to the Covenant School community in Nashville. No matter the reason or rationale, the lives of three young people and three adults have been extinguished in another act of gun violence.
I am tired of sending these messages, but it is important to realize that incidents of gun violence and death can affect students, families and staff at the schools in Contra Costa County, no matter how far away the incident may seem.
Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE) has put together a list of resources to provide educators, parents and guardians support in talking with students about gun violence, their safety and their feelings. Included in this list are resources for adults to care for themselves as well.
Support for Children and Schools
- A Checklist for School Personnel to Evaluate and Implement the Mental Health Component of Your School Crisis and Emergency Plan
- Helping Youth After Community Trauma: Tips for Educators
- School Violence Prevention: Guidelines for Administrators and Crisis Teams
- Talking to Children about the Shooting (The National Child Traumatic Stress Network)
- Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers (National Association of School Psychologists)
- Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers (Resources in multiple languages)
Support for Adults and Caregivers
- Coping in the Aftermath of a Shooting (American Counseling Association)
- Trauma and Disaster Mental Health (American Counseling Association)
- Managing your distress in the aftermath of a shooting (American Psychological Association)
As always, if you or someone you know is experiencing a mental or emotional crisis, you can contact the Contra Costa Crisis Center at 1-800-833-2900.
In Sorrow,
Lynn Mackey
Superintendent of Schools
16 comments
Dear Lynn: In sorrow. The fact that you use the term “gun violence” tells more about who you are then anything else you have to say.
It is people with guns violence. Guns are not violent. Stop teaching your unGodly agenda . These things were not happening when I was in school.
I taught High School in Contra Costa County for a decade. I had to quit – as the environment became more and more unsafe for students (and/or teachers and support staff).
I hope to advocate for metal detectors in our schools – (as knives were also what we had to deal with).
After a student was permanently disfigured (from a facial slashing) – I decided to quit my job.
I had tried to get help for the perpetrator – over and over, but was called a “racist” for doing so.
Administrators made us sign a “non disclosure” to never tell the “press” how bad these issues are in our local schools
I blame media, (real estate sales), and the tremendous stress – parents are under- (working 2 and 3 jobs) to keep their kids in what are considered “safe” local public schools.
I discovered these “safe” schools have much more serious issues (with drugs, bullying, and weapons then lower income schools).
I put my own daughter in College Park High School – and we never had any issues (dispite it being a little bit run down).
Teachers and staff really care there.
Metal Detectors at schools are only “eye candy” to make people feel safer. There is no substantial proof or even enough data to show that detectors make schools safer. Kids, gang bangers, and crazy people know they can (and do) easily plant a weapon on a campus after hours, hop fences, or find unattended doors set ajar the day prior, or simply rush a monitored gate. Metal detectors are a wasted expense.
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Credible Resources:
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http://www.edweek.org/media/hankin-02security.pdf “CONCLUSION: There is insufficient data in the literature to determine whether the presence of metal detectors in schools reduces the risk of violent behavior among students, and some research suggests that the presence of metal detectors may detrimentally impact student perceptions of safety.”
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http://www.abusivekids.com/school-metal-detectors.html
“A weak link in the chain is that many metal detectors have limited capabilities…” “Some of the most incredulous crimes in schools involving weapons and children are sourced back to carelessness at home. Guns stored in shoe boxes, hunting weapons in unsecured tool boxes and the like are often the temptation that is not resisted or the answer to a dare by peers. Tighter security of weapons at home is a first step in making sure that children do not have access to these types of things. Metal detectors in school should work as a second line of defense for those who choose to defy the rules at home and in school. After all, these metal detectors are costly pieces of equipment designed to work with human assistance.”
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http://www.abusivekids.com/school-metal-detectors.html
“School Metal Detectors and Other Equipment Only as Strong as the Human Element Behind the Machines.”
Trust the Science
Impacts of metal detector use in schools: insights from 15 years of research
Abigail Hankin et al. J Sch Healt
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21223277/
I enjoyed the article; thanks C B.
If the media was really serious about ending mass shootings, they would stop publishing the ID of the shooter.
Every shooter knows they will become an instant celebrity – their face and most recent social media postings broadcast around the country – and for the depraved and deranged this is incentive enough.
I agree that some of these shooters wants noteriety, I also think there is no need to publish there names over and over again. However, I do think the public have a right to know, who they are. They might be a neighbor, former co worker etc. Also since a lot if these shooters often deliberately put themselves in a position where they are pretty certain they will be killed, I doubt they think ahead about any kind of noteriety the might gain.
@ Hanne J. Making the names of shooters available to the public is far different than the nonstop promotion the news makes of these events. Contrast this to their reportage of “black on black” mass shootings. Can you name one incident? No, its crickets despite a proportionally larger number of shootings than any other demographic.
And yes, these shooters almost always consider their notoriety, despite their high chance of death. More often than not, they leave a last message/posting behind – postings that are easy to find with a simple search given the media’s promotion of these events.
celebrity? 🤔
I worked as a flight attendant and retired from the airline after 36 years. When I worked as a substitute teacher in the MDUSD, I took that safety training and experience in emergency situations with me. I kept the doors locked and sometimes had to defend that practice to students and, sometimes, to teachers. It was frustrating that some people take possible emergency precautions so lightly and would like education departments to stress their importance to their employees who act as if “it couldn’t happen here,:
Yoyohop, … You are correct.
Mental defective failures trying to get their 5 minutes of fame their existence will never give them.
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Kids have a hard enough time trying to grow up. Burdening them with mental gymnastics of liberal woke agenda is akin to child abuse.
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Is obvious liberal gun grabbers are incapable of addressing commonality of mass shooters, MENTAL HEALTH. Latest trans mass shooter legally purchased fire arms it used.
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In largest loss of life involving a school no firearms were used.
Dear Superintendent of Schools:
My cynicism over your letter is at 100%. When I went to school there was less than 1% of schools that needed any kind of police or security on site, and now it’s what, 50% or 60% or more? We did not even have fences with gates around the schools. The culture changed, and the change is not random. The change is by design. Teachers and politicians and political movements like BLM have intentionally increased conflict and division with their crazy lockdowns, hyped up militancy over manufactured race and gender conflict, social and class division, critical theory including critical race theory, and their aggressive political and economic agenda to impose socialism and end free speech. I believe the gun issue you cite is like blaming your thermometer tacked up on the wall outside for the weather. Its cowardly, and dishonest. These groups I mention are complicit in creating the division that results in violence. Just look at the BLM signs at your campus. It is new for such hyped-up and manufactured politics to be forced on the students, and the increased numbers of violent actions is predictable. Those who decry the increase in societal violence especially in schools, in my opinion, are the same ones creating it with their agenda to teach division and hatred while claiming they are doing the opposite.
UnGODly agenda in schools is utterly shameful and disturbing.
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Guns aren’t the problem.
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“Gun-free zones” are just a token emotional response and false narrative.
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A lack of mental health diagnosis, judicial custody, and treatment is the problem.
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“Three young people?” They were children. “Gun violence” used more than once? Lynn Mackey sounds like a tool.
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