Safe schools are a prerequisite for student achievement. Increasingly, this vital aspect is more aspirational than realistic as schools face threats on many fronts.
From the looming risk of on-campus violence, the escalating mental health crisis, and the growing risk (and cost) of cyber attacks, schools are working overtime to make sure they provide a safe learning environment for every student.
Technology supports these efforts, enhancing existing security protocols and augmenting in-person resources to help make schools safer.
Here are three ways schools will foster a safety culture through innovative educational technology in the 2024-2025 school year.
1. Physical Security in Schools
When parents drop their kids off at school, they expect them to have a safe experience. Too often, this expectation is undone by violence at school.
Since Columbine High School reoriented our understanding of school safety in 1999, the Washington Post reports that more than 359,000 students have experienced gun violence at school. The problem is continuing to escalate. Recently, 2022 set a record for the most school shootings in a year – a temporary milestone that 2023 eclipsed in just 11 months.
While some schools have responded by increasing the number of armed security personnel on campus, several studies have found this approach to be ineffective or counterproductive, instead increasing fear rather than heightening a sense of security.
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Meanwhile, technology is helping schools enhance security and augment existing safety measures. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, more than 97% of public schools control access to buildings during school hours, a 6% increase since 2010. More significantly, the use of security cameras to monitor schools has soared, increasing from 61% in 2010 to 91% in 2020.
Now, AI-powered tools are making these solutions even more impactful and effective. Entry scanning solutions can automatically detect guns, knives, and other threats with high accuracy, reducing confrontations and improving entry speed.
Simply put, physical safety is a top priority and a significant challenge for schools. While there is no perfect solution, the latest technologies are elevating security standards and allowing schools to focus on their mission to teach and support students.
2. Psychological Safety in Schools
K-12 student mental health outcomes have consistently declined since the COVID-19 pandemic, and today, they are at an all-time low.
A spring 2023 survey found that 75% of schools said their teachers and staff “voiced concerns about student depression, anxiety, and trauma.” A similar percentage of schools said they saw a spike in the number of students looking for mental health services, taxing already-full school counselor caseloads and forcing other staff to play critical support roles that they are unprepared for.
In response, many school districts have allocated significant time and resources to hiring more mental health support staff. Finding the right people is still a challenge. Nearly 20% of schools say they have vacant mental health positions. According to one estimate, the country is short 100,000 mental health staff, requiring creative solutions to help students receive the care they need.
RELATED: Student Wellness: Schools Adopting Various Approaches to Boost Mental Health on Campus
To meet demand, schools are turning to technology to provide access to mental health services. Online or virtual therapy for students has allowed schools to augment their existing resources with readily available virtual mental health services. For example, Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine provides short-term psychiatry or therapy before referring students to local community resources.
At the same time, virtual curriculum resources, like Centervention and the Superflex curriculum from the Social Thinking Training & Speakers’ Collaborative, allow schools to provide holistic social-emotional learning opportunities for students.
Even more rudimentary tech solutions, like Google Forms or other app-based solutions, allow all stakeholders to better identify, track, and follow through with students needing additional support services.
Together, these technologies make it possible for schools to outkick their proverbial coverage, providing better solutions than their in-house capabilities may enable. As the World Journal of Psychiatry explained earlier this year, “Digital interventions are cutting-edge and effective approaches should be fully utilized to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of students.”
3. Cybersecurity in Schools
Schools are frequently the targets of cyber attacks, which siphon time, attention, and resources away from students. Last year was a record-breaking year for ransomware attacks, nearly doubling the number of attacks from the year before. These attacks compromised nearly seven million personal records and cost more than $53 billion in downtime since 2018.
Ransomware attacks aren’t the only threat facing schools. Phishing scams, data breaches, Distributed Denial of Service Attacks, and other attack methodologies. In many ways, schools have an enticing combination of highly sensitive information and relatively limited defensive resources. Many schools struggle to attract or retain top-tier cybersecurity professionals who can find significantly higher pay, better benefits, and other advantages to working in the private sector.
RELATED: Cybersecurity Researcher Finds School Shooting Emergency Plans Exposed Online
Technology is bridging the gap, as firewalls, detection systems, and encryption solutions fight the good fight on their behalf. Technology also helps schools educate and prepare their staff to identify and defend against cyber threats.
Since nearly three-quarters of data breaches involve a human element, these training resources can transform vulnerabilities into assets, enhancing a school’s overall defensive posture.
Conclusion
Technology alone can’t create physical, psychological, or digital security in schools, but it can be a powerful tool, cultivating an overall culture of safety in schools.
The integration of technology in schools is about creating a secure, proactive environment where students can learn and grow without fear. In this complex era, the role of technology in building a safe and nurturing educational landscape is more crucial than ever.
Peter Evans is the CEO of Xtract One Technologies, a technology and AI-driven threat detection and security solutions company.
Note: The views expressed by guest bloggers and contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, Campus Safety.
