Expert says Catholic schools are
safer
By MARGOT PATTERSON
NCR Staff
News reports described the March 7 shooting at a Catholic school
in Williamsport, Pa., as a first. It was, in fact, at least the third shooting
in Catholic schools in the past 10 years.
In 1995 in a Catholic school in Redlands, Calif., an elementary
school student shot the school principal in the face. Four years earlier, at a
Jesuit high school in Louisiana, one student shot another through the eye with
a BB gun.
Despite such cases, Sr. Mary Angela Shaughnessy, an education
professor at Spalding University in Louisville, Ky., and an expert on school
safety, says shes convinced that Catholic schools are safer than public
schools.
The incident in Williamsport, in which 14-year-old Elizabeth Bush
shot and wounded a 13-year-old classmate, Kimberly Marchese, at Bishop Neumann
Junior/Senior High School, appears to be the first where a teenage girl has
been the assailant. The incident followed by just two days a shooting in a
public school in Santee, Calif., where two teens were killed and 13
wounded.
Bush has been charged as a juvenile with aggravated assault and
attempted homicide.
Shaughnessy, who has conducted school violence prevention
workshops for the past three years, has warned that Catholics schools are not
immune to the violence occurring in American public schools. Catholic schools
have their share of troubled kids, she says. But Catholic schools are also
doing an excellent job of preparing for crises, according to Shaughnessy.
Id be really surprised to find a Catholic school that
doesnt have a safety plan. I see a very high level of preparedness,
Shaughnessy said. I think were about as ready as we can be. There
are some few, and I emphasize few, schools that arent in compliance with
what we would consider standard safety procedures.
An attorney and former school principal who has written widely on
the legal issues related to school violence, Shaughnessy is employed as a
consultant by many Catholic schools and dioceses. In the fall of 1999 she
conducted a workshop in the Scranton, Pa, diocese where Bishop Neumann is
located.
Like other Catholic schools in the Scranton, Pa, diocese, Bishop
Neumann has a zero-tolerance policy on weapons. Safety measures the school had
instituted included security cameras and secured entrances. Students at Bishop
Neumann must stow their backpacks in their lockers at the beginning of the day
and are required to keep books in clear plastic.
There is no way you can guarantee the absolute safety of
children, Shaughnessy said. Nobody would have expected what
happened at Bishop Neumann High School, but I also think its important
not to blow it out of proportion.
In workshops delivered around the country and in a series of
essays distributed by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Shaughnessy
discusses what steps schools can take to prevent violence or to minimize its
impact when it occurs. She also addresses what she says is a common
misunderstanding that Catholic schools dont need to comply with state
law.
Checklists given to school administrators and teachers ask them to
describe the worst thing to happen in their schools and call for them to talk
to children about whether they feel safe at school. Shaughnessy said a problem
area in many schools is emergency drills. People get lackadaisical about
following the rules, she said. Schools may also want to consider
designating a safe area in the building and coming up with a code that will
signal to staff and students when they should go there. But the most essential
safety measure is a safety audit.
I always say, Dont put your janitor in charge of
this, the Sister of Charity nun said. Walk through the
entire building and look for safety problems. This could be a window in a
cafeteria thats open. Unfortunately, there are still places where people
chain unused doors, and the problem is you cant get out. If you recall
the 1955 Holy Angels fire in Chicago, that was the problem there.
Identifying violence-prone students before they act is the best
way to prevent school violence. Teachers are advised to look for withdrawn,
depressed or angry students, students who seem to have few friends and students
who display inappropriate behavior on a consistent basis. Bizarre writing can
also be a tip-off. Shaughnessy cites the case of 14-year-old Michael Corneal in
Paducah, Ky., who turned in a violent Halloween story for a class assignment
shortly before he opened fire on a prayer meeting and killed three students and
paralyzed a fourth.
But identifying troubled students can be difficult, particularly
because so far unruly students have not committed the shootouts in American
schools. If you notice, its not the worst discipline cases who are
doing this, said Shaughnessy. I think the kids who tend to be
discipline problems tend to act out their frustrations that way, whereas the
quiet kid broods and then explodes.
The stereotype that many people have of the violent student is of
a young black male, but middle-class white males have perpetrated almost all
the shootouts in American schools. You expect this in Harlem, but it
doesnt happen in Harlem, Shaughnessy said. Id say the
Catholic schools in Harlem are among the safest places in the world.
Shaughnessy said she doesnt think schools are over-reacting
to concerns about violence, but she thinks parents are. They want armed
guards and metal detectors. She is opposed to both. She also sees a need
for common sense. Although she supports a zero tolerance policy for threats,
that doesnt mean you throw every kid out (of school) for
everything, she says. If a 5-year old says, Im going to
hit you, thats a threat, but I wouldnt throw a child out for
that.
In the 1995 shooting at the Sacred Heart School in Redlands, the
school principal survived, but the eighth-grader who fired at him was killed
when he slipped while running and the gun in his hand discharged. In the 1991
shooting in Louisiana, a lawsuit later filed charged the school with negligence
for not checking students lockers for guns. The lawsuit was dismissed.
Given that anybody with a filing fee can file a lawsuit,
Shaughnessy said schools need to meet a standard of reasonable prudence. While
calling a shooting at a Catholic school inevitable, she also
believes that Catholic schools are less prone to such incidents than public
schools.
I think theres a sense of ownership at Catholic
schools, Shaughnessy said. Youve got a mission thats
based on the gospel and thats pretty powerful. Catholic schools really
try to get people to care about each other. In the public schools you
cant talk about God, and I think thats a disadvantage. If I had a
child I would scrub floors to send my child to a Catholic school, because I
think its worth it, because I think the life lessons are so
important.
She noted that Kimberly Marcheses father in Williamsport
came to school the day after the shooting and greeted everyone as they came in
the door. At a prayer service that followed, he asked the school community to
pray for Elizabeth Bush and her family.
Is there an explanation for the epidemic of school shootings?
Shaughnessy says such questions are better answered by a sociologist. But she
says she has to believe the media is part of the problem and quotes radio
commentator Paul Harvey that school violence is a communicable disease
and newsmen are the carriers.
Its a copy cat syndrome. Kids may be drawn to do
something like this for attention, she said. They dont think
through that the rest of their life is over.
What to do when the unthinkable
happens |
1. Dont panic. Remember: Students
depend on teachers, and teachers depend on administrators. A lack of control on
your part can result in chaos.
2. Have your safety plan readily
accessible and follow it.
3. Notify appropriate school or
district personnel by phone if possible.
4. Designate a single spokesperson for
the school or system.
5. While students cannot be prohibited
from talking to the press, reporters and photographers can be denied access to
the school building.
6. No one has a legal obligation to
take serious risks that may result in personal injury or death.
7. Implement a communication plan for
persons other than the media. Principals and/or superintendents should meet
with faculty and staff, parents and students as soon as possible. In the
alternative, written communication should be sent.
8. Give school counselors a primary
role.
9. Ask for and utilize outside
professional help.
10. Do not talk to attorneys except the
school or district attorney. Refer all other attorneys to the school or
district attorney. Failing to follow this advice can result in claims that
administrators accepted liability.
-- From Sr. Mary Angela
Shaughnessy |
National Catholic Reporter, March 23,
2001
|