The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the perceptions of school principals regarding creating a safety plan that addresses school safety in K-12 schools in Illinois. The conceptual model that guided this study was the M-PHAT model from the National Association of School Psychologists Framework for Safe and Successful…

The United States has seen significantly more gun violence on school grounds than other high-income countries across the globe (Grinshteyn & Hemenway, 2019). On February 14, 2018, right here in our very home of Broward County, we experienced one of the most violent, deadly mass school shootings, when 17 people were killed and 17 others injured…

The topic of trauma and the effect it has on an individual has recently been in the forefront of educational research. It is indicated that students who have experienced some form of trauma in their lives will have repercussions that may express themselves in their academic achievement (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2021). This…

Institutions of higher education (IHEs) have been federally mandated to prevent and respond to reports of sexual violence on campus via Title IX for over 30 years as the trauma that results from campus sexual assault is considered prohibitive to accessing education. Yet, students may not be the only parties harmed when sexual violence is…

Today we are living in an era of two pandemics--the COVID-19 global health pandemic and the racial inequity pandemic--and at the same time, anxiety over school shootings is increasing. When assessing school-based threats of violence, equitable procedures and protocols are needed to guide decision-making and ensure that high-level interventions are…

The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance (TA) Center has created a list of resources on the role of special educators in school safety efforts. The list includes the following categories: (1) Access and/or Functional Needs (AFN) and Emergencies; (2) Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) Development; (3) Hazard- and…

Public school trauma responses to school shootings in the USA would benefit from a greater focus on trauma intervention in the aftermath of a shooting. The current research explored school staff attitudes toward public school trauma response after school shootings. This phenomenological study was conducted with 12 public school staff members with…

According to recent research, gun violence at schools has become a public health issue. Teachers, administrators, students, and communities are trying to cope with the aftermath of gun violence at schools. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to identify coping mechanisms among teachers and administrators after experiencing…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perspectives of preschool teachers regarding crisis preparedness in independently funded childcare centers. This study was based on the integrated model of school crisis preparedness and intervention proposed by Jimerson, Brock, and Pletcher. This study examined how preschool teachers describe the…

Gun violence and school shootings have become more prevalent in recent years, and beginning in 2017, firearm-related injuries became the most common cause of injury-related death for children ages 1 to 24. Students also face the threat of bullying, gangs, racism, drugs, and abuse. In recognition of the need for collective action, the Council of…

Drawing on data from a larger feminist study that explored how secondary English teacher candidates responded to a sexual trauma text set and pedagogy for teaching such narratives with Canadian adolescents, this paper examines how caretaker discourses emerged in response to these stories and learning. This especially manifested as emerging teacher…

Trauma is just a word. It doesn't have to be a life sentence, argue education experts Kristin Souers and Pete Hall. They also explain what a "culture of safety" is in schools and how educators can create one for students living with trauma.

The United States has recently experienced numerous large-scale crises that resulted in high death tolls and extensive property damage. Critical incidents such as suicide contagion, natural disasters, or mass casualty events have the potential to cause traumatic reactions and significantly affect children's sense of safety and security. School…

The fundamental need for safety in schools requires research-based and trauma-informed strategies for implementing crisis management plans (CMPs). Beyond the immediate harm, longer-term potential outcomes of crises are psychological trauma and damage to the reputation for safety of the school, leading to staff attrition. An effective CMP involves…

To resist hegemonic campus sexual violence research trends rooted in postpositivist paradigms, I advocate for the centering of healing in research, particularly in the research methodologies that scholars employ. In this article, I invite researchers to (re)consider the purpose of research as a process that actively prioritizes and promotes…