How Many More?

Source: Time Magazine, Carlos Osorio- AP

Guest Blog:Submitted by the American Educational Research Association (AERA)  

We are saddened by the tragic loss of life and harm caused during the deadly shooting at Michigan State University, and we offer our deepest condolences to the families, friends, and communities of the victims. The shooting comes as a stark reminder of the tragedy of gun violence and is just the latest in a long string of similarly traumatic events at U.S. schools and higher education institutions.

Source: Audacy.com, Ryan Garza, USA Today Network

We again call on our national, state, and local leaders to take immediate action to address gun access, safety, violence, and mental health. AERA needs to issue these statements too often—most recently about the shootings at the University of Virginia, the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis, and the University of Idaho; in Buffalo, N.Y.; and at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Other recent statements include deadly shootings in Pittsburgh; at Santa Fe High School; at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School; at Sandy Hook Elementary School; in Charleston, S.C.; at Umpqua Community College; and in Orlando.

These traumatic events call for urgent attention and interaction. Together we must ensure that students and educators, whether at school, on campus, or elsewhere, are able to live and thrive safely and securely.

Note: Photos added by Temescal Associates. 

See prior LIAS Blogs on school shootings:

• School Shootings This Year 
• Talking with Kids After Tragedy Strikes Again 
• School Shootings and the Role of Afterschool 
• In the Aftermath of Parkland: What is the Role of Expanded Learning Programs? 
• Recent Events of Violence - What Can We Do? 
• Enough is Enough. It's Time to Act. 

MORE ABOUT... 

The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is the largest national interdisciplinary research association devoted to the scientific study of education and learning. Founded in 1916, AERA advances knowledge about education, encourages scholarly inquiry related to education, and promotes the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. Find AERA on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 

School Shootings This Year

Source: Katie Godowski, www.pexels.com

By Sam Piha

School shootings have unfortunately become commonplace but that doesn’t mean we should accept them as normal or acceptable. Over the years we have posted blogs on this topic, which can be accessed here and we will continue to speak out when they happen.

“There have been 40 school shootings this year that resulted in injuries or deaths, the most in a single year since Education Week began tracking such incidents in 2018. There have been 132 such shootings since 2018. Prior to 2022, the highest number of school shootings with injuries or deaths was last year when there were 34. There were 10 in 2020, and 24 each in 2019 and 2018.” - Education Week, School Shootings This Year: How Many and Where

Below we share Education Week's latest School Shooting Tracker, updated October 31, 2022. 

2022 SCHOOL SHOOTINGS INJURIES & DEATHS 

• 40  School shootings with injuries or deaths
• 122  People killed or injured in a school shooting 
• 34  People killed 
• 28  Students or other children killed 
• 6  School employees or other adults killed
• 88 People injured 

Here are a few organizations to help you get involved with to prevent school shootings:

• March For Our Lives
• Every Town
• Sandy Hook Promise

Source: Youth Service America

Talking with Kids After Tragedy Strikes Again

By Sam Piha

This blog is intended to help afterschool programs promote young people’s learning and healthy development. However, it seems that much of this space is dominated by issues of trauma and violence, from Parkland to Charlottesville to the grief of the COVID pandemic to now the shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Tx. 

And now, on top of all those already existing pandemic-related chronic stressors, many children and families may be overwhelmed with the added fear of sending their children to school,” - Katherine Williams, child and adolescent psychologist and professor of psychiatry at UC San Diego

I think Steve Kerr, coach of the NBA Golden State Warriors said it best in his pregame press conference for game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. “I'm not going to talk about basketball. Nothing's happened with our team in the last six hours. We're going to start the same way tonight. Any basketball questions don't matter. When are we going to do something? I'm tired. I'm so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there. I'm so tired. Excuse me. I'm sorry. I'm tired of the moments of silence. Enough!” See the video of his press conference. 

After the tragic shooting in Texas, several articles have offered tips on how to discuss these events with kids, and offer a number of resources for those who want to learn more. Below I summarize tips from two articles, Texas School Shooting: How to Help Kids Get Through Unspeakable Horror and Nine Tips for Talking with Kids About Trauma.

• Initiate the conversation and talk to kids about their concerns
• Listen
• Find out what they know
• Give kids a sense of control and reassuring facts about their safety
• Treat children according to their age
• Limit exposure to media
• Encourage children to share their feelings
• Share your feelings
• Focus on the good
• Encourage children to act
• Observe children’s emotional state and seek help if necessary.
• Model healthy behavior and take care of yourself
• Maintain routines

After a tragedy, kids will have questions. How do we respond? As much as we might want to, we can’t always protect children from witnessing violence and tragedy in the world, whether it’s mass shootings, terrorist attacks, or war. As parents, teachers, and other supportive adults, what we can do is comfort and communicate with children in the most healing way possible.” – Kira M. Newman, Greater Good Science Center

School Shootings and the Role of Afterschool

Source: The Signal

By Sam Piha

Feelings of physical and emotional safety are foundational to promoting healthy youth development, but are schools safe? On Nov. 30th, a 15-year-old sophomore opened fire at his Michigan high school, killing four students and wounding seven other people, including a teacher. This latest event is another in a long list of school shootings. Education Week journalists track shootings on K-12 school property that results in firearm-related injuries or deaths. 

According to Ed Week, “There have been 28 school shootings this year, 20 since August 1. There have been 86 school shootings since 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have interrupted the trend line. The 2020 figure, with 10 shootings, was significantly lower than 2019 and 2018, which each had 24. 

That falloff in numbers is probably due to the shift to remote learning for nearly all schools for part or all of 2020. But those using this data should note that it should not be interpreted to mean that schools were 'safer.' Rather, the definition of school safety has shifted as schooling entered the home in a way it never had before.” 

Source: LA Times

Below is a summary of injuries and deaths that came about as a result of school shooting events in 2021:

Source: Ed Week

HOW SHOULD AFTERSCHOOL RESPOND?

After the Parkland shooting, we heard a lot about school safety, but little about the role of afterschool program providers. To gather perspective on this, we created a survey and distributed to our afterschool stakeholders. We posted a blog entitled In the Aftermath of Parkland: What is the Role of Expanded Learning Programs?, in which we summarized the responses to our survey.