Concerns about school safety in Michigan have reshaped how districts prepare for emergencies, from adopting new technologies to standardizing the language used during threats.
Researchers and prevention experts say technology is only one part of a broader strategy. Dr. Sarah Stillwell, a research investigator with the University of Michigan Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention, said school safety efforts should focus on preventing violence before it happens.
“When we think about school safety, we’re really thinking about a comprehensive approach to early prevention and making sure that we’re not just responding to incidents, but also developing ways that we can prevent incidents from happening in the first place,” Stilwell said.
Stillwell said schools can also empower students through tools such as anonymous reporting systems. “We really take a comprehensive approach towards school safety and violence prevention by empowering students with things like implementing things like a anonymous reporting system,” she said. “So if they see something, a concerning sign in the school, they can report it and make sure that that tip is actually acted on.”
Stillwell said research has shown students often have some of the most valuable information when it comes to safeguarding schools. She said her team recently interviewed former K-12 students from Michigan to learn what they believe would improve safety.
“We recently interviewed former K-12 students from the state of Michigan and asked them about what was it like to be a student in the state of Michigan and what their experiences are about what we can do to improve overall school safety within the state and the ideas that they have are things that we never would have thought of,” Stilwell said. “They’re ultimately the experts around school safety and we can only empower them by listening to their voice and leveraging their experiences and their expertise.”