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Additional details provided on shooting incident near Evergreen High School
Following the lockdown of three Vancouver schools when shots were fired near Evergreen High School last Thursday, parents in Clark County are speaking up loud and clear:...
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I’m a local school district employee and I have seen a huge increase in the number of incidents involving students that are “out of control” since the pandemic ended – and this is at a primary school. I’ve seen fights in the cafeteria and on the playground between students, that prior to the pandemic were rare, not becoming a daily event, teachers and staff physically assaulted and a huge increase in physical damage to furniture and school property. Administrators seem to be hamstrung on what they can do to discipline students – the school psychologist and counselors seem to be the ones that are “too involved” in this process. PBIS (https://www.pbis.org/) is a worthless tool used to “manage” student behavior, students are not held accountable for their actions in school.
I am a retired police sergeant who oversaw a School Resource Officer (SRO) program that served 5 school districts and 65 school campuses in So Cal. A properly administered SRO program that places the right officers/deputies on school campuses is a GREAT asset for students and communities. SROs become integrated into the school community and are seen as beneficial campus resources rather than as invading forces. SROs develop rapport and personal relationship with students and staff and, because they are on campus daily, they know the students and the dynamics of their campus thus allowing them to recognize when things are amiss and there’s potential trouble brewing. SROs will then be able to take action to intervene and, in doing so, ensuring a safe learning environment for our children.
Also, because SROs know their students, SROs are in the unique position to take action not only as most appropriate for the circumstances, but paticularly considering the specific needs of the student(s) involved. A patrol officer/deputy who is not part of the school campus doesn’t know the student or dynamics of the campus and and may simply issue a citation or make an arrest with the idea to just “let the courts sort it out”. Conversely, an SRO has the opportunity, as appropriate, to interupt the “schools-to-prison pipeline” and to keep our children out of the criminal justice system by choosing a disposition that is best suited for the child and the circumstances.
Finally, armed law enforcement officers on campus keep our children safer. Most active shooter incidents are over before police arrive to the campus. Every gunshot and every second is a potential life lost. When a bad guy a gun shows up anywhere, I’d guess that most of us would rather have a good guy with a gun there to end the threat than have a cheap aluminum “Gun-Free-Zone” sign to hide behind while waiting for the police to arrive.
Awesome and informative comment.
Thank you for your comments, Mike and Ken! I agree with you. When I worked in a local public high school several years ago, I really appreciated the security personnel there, including an SRO. I saw him lead someone out of the school in handcuffs probably monthly.
I would think that a smart, proactive School Board would contact Ken Klopman and engage his services to replacte for them what he’s done before. Fairly obvious to Dave Roberts 😉😉😉
As a current candidate for the Evergreen School Board, I agree.
That is a good reason to get my vote Gary. Thank you so much for taking a stand and opinion. I hope you can make some changes.