What We Already Know, and What Schools, Staff, and
Students Need to Do
Dear Colleagues,
Introduction
January 3: St. John’s, MI (East Olive Elementary School)
January 4: Seattle, WA (New Start High School
January 10: Sierra Vista, AZ (Coronado Elementary School)
January 10: San Bernardino, CA (California State
University)
January 10: Denison, TX (Grayson College Criminal Justice
Center)
January 15: Marshall, TX (Wiley College Campus)
January 20: Winston-Salem, NC (Wake Forest University)
January 22: Italy, TX (Italy High School)
January 22: Gentilly, LA (The NET Charter High School)
January 23: Benton, KY (Marshall County High School)
January 25: Mobile, AL
(Murphy High School)
January 26: Dearborn, MI (Dearborn High School)
January 31: Philadelphia, PA (Lincoln High School)
February 1: Los Angeles, CA (Salvador B. Castro Middle
School)
February 5: Oxon Hill, MD (Oxon Hill High School)
February 5: Maplewood, MN (Harmony Learning Center)
February 8: New York, NY (Metropolitan High School)
February 14: Broward County, FL (Stoneman Douglas High
School)
February 20: Massillon, OH (Jackson Memorial Middle
School)
There have been 19
shootings so far this year—on or around school premises—including the one at
Stoneman Douglas High School that claimed 17 souls last week.
And many of us have
been discussing school shootings since the 1998 transformational event in
Jonesboro, AR when two 11- and 13-year old students killed four classmates and
one adult, and injured 10 other children in their schoolyard after the boys
were excused from class and pulled a fire alarm to draw their victims outdoors.
Twenty years of
school shootings. . . where students, staff, and others have lost their
lives. . . others have suffered life-long injuries. . . and still others have
been traumatized because of the tragic events.
And remember, in
the possession of the 11- and 13-year old Jonesboro killers were thirteen fully-loaded
firearms, including three semi-automatic rifles, and 200 rounds of ammunition. All of the weapons were taken from one of the
boy’s homes. And their stolen van had a
stockpile of supplies as well as a crossbow and several hunting knives.
Twenty years of
school shootings. . . and how have we progressed?
Nineteen shootings
in just the first 33 actual school days of this calendar year.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Why This School
Shooting Analysis is Different
Just like you, I
have followed the TV, print, and social media news reports and public responses
to the most-recent tragedy. I understand
the politics . . . I know the policies and practices . . . and I recognize the
diverse emotions . . . from anger to disbelief, from grief to blame.
But I also bring
two important perspectives to this discussion.
One is an historical perspective.
The other is a school psychological perspective.
From an
historical perspective, I want to review and analyze (below) what we
already know about preventing and responding to school shootings— “translating” this
into 21st Century/2018 terms.
I am comfortable
doing this because, after the Jonesboro shootings, I was asked by President
Clinton to be on the writing team that published— through the U.S. Department of
Education—the Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools
that eventually was distributed to every school in the country.
My ultimate point
is that we have not learned from history, and history (i.e., the school
shootings) continues to repeat itself.
But some, especially
in the media, are saying that “this time is different”— especially given the
articulate, and anguished, voices of the Stoneman Douglas High School students,
parents, staff, and community leaders.
Clearly, these
students and this community in Florida has kindled a grass-roots national
response and dialogue that has been broadcast (literally and figuratively) more
extensively than ever before.
But whether the
response is sustained, and the dialogue reaps substantive change remains to be
seen.
_ _ _ _ _
From a school
psychological perspective, I also know that the national response and
dialogue has been over-simplified, politicized, and polarized—and this may be
undermining our comprehensive understanding of the problem, and our ability to
fully address it.
Missing has been a
recognition that the dynamics and factors related to school shootings are
complex, and that the ways to prevent them—and to minimize the loss of life if
they occur—are multi-faceted and comprehensive.
Missing also has
been a focus on school safety in the context of school discipline, classroom
management, and student self-management, and the objective analysis of the root
causes of this complex problem.
_ _ _ _ _
And so, below is an
historical analysis and discussion of the potential root causes of a school
shooting, and what districts and schools need to (continue to) do now to
prevent future school shootings—or, at least, to minimize their impact.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
How and Why School
Shootings Occur: It’s Not Just
about Mental Health
Historically, the
vast majority of school shootings have involved a single perpetrator. And while some of these individuals had or
could have had mental health (e.g., DSM-5) diagnoses, that does not de facto
establish a causal relationship or link between their diagnoses and problems,
and their violent and deadly actions.
We have known since
the June 2004 joint report from the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Department of
Education, The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative: Implications
for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States, that there is no
single profile or finite set of characteristics that define or predict a school
shooter.
Critically, this
Report was based on analyses of 37 incidents of targeted school shootings and
school attacks that occurred in the United States from 1974 to May 2000
(including the June 1999 Columbine High School attack).
While all of the
shooters studied in the Report were male, and most (76%) were White and between
the ages of 13 to 18 years old (85%), most of the other variables analyzed were
not predictive.
These included:
Student grades and academic status, whether they were from two-parent families,
whether they were social isolates or not involved in extracurricular or other
school-related social activities, whether they had school discipline problems
or had been involved with law enforcement, whether they had threatened their
eventual victims.
But what did
emerge was that many of the attackers:
* Felt bullied,
persecuted, or injured by others prior to the attack.
* Had not received a
mental health evaluation, been diagnosed with a
mental disorder, or were involved in substance abuse.
* Had some history
of suicidal attempts or thoughts, or a history of feeling extreme depression or
desperation.
* Demonstrated some
interest in violence, through movies, video games, books, and other media.
* Were known to
have had difficulty coping with significant losses or
personal failures.
* Planned their
attacks and had access to and had used weapons prior to the attack.
* Engaged in some
behavior, prior to the incident, that caused others
concern or indicated a need for help—indeed, some knew about
the attacker’s idea and/or plan to attack.
_ _ _ _ _
Extending this Analysis to Today
Since 1990 (through
yesterday), there have been 186 incidents of gun violence in a K to Grade 12
school that resulted in 177 fatalities and 340 injuries. Ten states have never experienced a school
shooting.
Those that have
include the following:
* Midwest States:
43 incidents of gun violence, which resulted in 26 fatalities and 65 injuries
Deadliest
incident: Red Lake High School massacre on March 21, 2005, where
16-year-old Jeffrey Weise killed five fellow students, one teacher and a
security guard before killing himself.
_ _ _ _ _
* Northeast
States: 12 incidents of gun violence, which resulted in 38 fatalities and
21 injuries
Deadliest
incident: Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre on December 14, 2012, where
20-year-old Adam Lanza killed 20 children and 6 adults before taking his own
life.
_ _ _ _ _
* Southern
States: 75 incidents of gun violence, which resulted in 47 fatalities and
126 injuries
Deadliest
incident: Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting on February 14,
2018, where a former student killed 17 people and wounded at least a dozen
others before being arrested by police.
_ _ _ _ _
* Western States:
56 incidents of gun violence, which resulted in 66 fatalities and 128 injuries
Deadliest
incident: Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999, where
18-year-old Eric Harris and 17-year-old Dylan Klebold killed twelve students
and one teacher, before turning the guns on themselves.
_ _ _ _ _
In this context,
the number, depth, and breadth of school shootings— especially since Columbine—has
not changed since The 2004 Final Report and Findings of the Safe School
Initiative: Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the
United States.
_ _ _ _ _
But what has
changed is that:
* Bullying has “gone social” and now involves cyber-bullying
* Substance abuse has more synthetic variations—along with the current
opioid crisis
* Ways to build weapons of mass destruction and to attack a school are
easily accessed on the internet
* The types of weapons available to youth are more sophisticated,
available, and deadly
And yet:
* There are more ways for students (and others) to report their concerns
about other students’ potential for violence (even though these notably failed
at Stoneman Douglas High School)
* More schools are more physically secure, more procedurally prepared
(for emergencies and school attacks), and have more security protections—in and
outside of the school
_ _ _ _ _
Understanding the Root Causes of School Shootings
Relative to the
root causes (or motives) for the attacks, the 2004 Report identified the
following:
Revenge was a motive for more than half of the
attackers (61%, n=25). Other motives included trying to solve a problem (34%,
n=14); suicide or desperation (27%, n=11); and efforts to get attention or
recognition (24%, n=10). More than half of the attackers had multiple motives
or reasons for their school-based attacks (54%, n=22). In addition, most of the
attackers held some sort of grievance at the time of the attack, either against
their target(s) or against someone else (81%, n=33). Many attackers told other
people about these grievances prior to their attacks (66%, n=27).
Critically, this list of root causes or motives reinforces the fact that
mental health issues were but one root cause of the school shootings analyzed.
Indeed, many of the other root causes suggest that the shooters were
consciously motivated by a triggering event, an explicit goal, and/or a clear
and specific outcome.
_ _ _ _ _
But two implicit causes are apparent from a psychological perspective.
First: Even if mental health
issues were present, analyses were needed to determine how the mental health
issues were impacting the shooters’ emotions, thoughts, understanding, and/or
behavior. These analyses then needed to
be linked to specific and individualized services, supports, interventions, and
treatments.
Second: Beyond the additional motives of loss, grief, and
hopelessness, many of the shooters did not have the interpersonal, social
problem-solving, conflict prevention and resolution, and emotional control and
coping skills needed to respond to some of the triggering events or school,
peer, or life conditions that they were experiencing.
_ _ _ _ _
One of the
highlighted recommendations in the 2004 Report was the importance of having
professionals available to conduct threat assessments in schools.
But as noted above,
comprehensive and multi-facet solutions are needed.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
What Schools,
Staff, and Students Need to Do
While I know that
this is not occurring, districts and schools should not wait for legal
solutions to certain aspects of this problem.
While I applaud and support the current push for national legislation,
the problem (obviously) is now, and schools must address as many solutions as
possible in-house.
At the same time, Part
II of this discussion will provide analyses of the relevant state laws
that currently exist. These analyses
will demonstrate that some states have already begun to address the problem
(even though improvements are needed), and that the push for national solutions
might not be as unreachable as we might think.
From now, the
many needed school-specific solutions can be organized as follows:
* Creating
inclusive, positive, prosocial, supportive, and collaborative school and
classroom environments and staff-student relationships that are devoid of
teasing, taunting, bullying, harassment, hazing, and physical threats and
aggression
* Teaching all
students, from preschool to high school, interpersonal, conflict prevention and
resolution, social problem-solving, and emotional control and coping skills and
behaviors
* Identifying,
engaging, and addressing students who need multi-tiered services and supports
when they exhibit frequent or significant social, emotional, behavioral, and
mental health challenges or concerns
* Training school
staff and parents and students (a) to recognize the early warning
signals for these challenges or concerns; (b) having different, confidential
school and community referral systems publicized and in place; and (c) having
available and well-trained school, district, and community professionals
available to conduct threat analyses and then to provide the multi-tiered
services, supports, interventions, and therapies needed and noted immediately
above
* Ensuring that our
schools are physically secure, and (coordinated at the District level and
supported by community-based First Responders) comprehensively prepared for
crisis situations
* Establishing and
implementing prevention, early response, strategic intervention, and
intensive/crisis management social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health
policies, practices, and procedures at the school and district levels—that
include (once again) threat assessments and mandatory reporting (see Part II of
this discussion)
* Establishing,
financially supporting, and implementing state and federal laws and statutes
that complement the prevention, early response, strategic intervention, and
intensive/crisis management processes immediately above
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Summary
While I have
written on all of the areas in the section immediately above (see the Subject
Index to this Blog site), we still need to address the availability of guns
to children and adolescents and mental health reporting system. This will occur in Part II (upcoming) of this
Blog series.
For now, districts
and schools need to complete an audit of the areas above, and independently
take the steps needed to protect themselves.
As noted, there are
multi-faceted and multi-layed solutions that are in place in some
schools, but that must be present and successfully implemented in all
schools . . . even as we wait for the federal and state legal decisions and
changes that will hopefully strengthen and complement these here-and-now
actions.
Once again, the ultimate goal is: To
prevent the next school shooting from occurring.
At the same time, we
know that we can’t prevent every school shooting. And so, we must take every step possible to
minimize the effects of the next school shooting.
_ _ _ _ _
I grieve, with you,
for those who lost their lives and were injured last week at Marjory Stoneman
Douglas High School. My prayers are
personal, however, as I lived and worked in Florida for 18 years, and because a
number of my former graduate students are now school psychologists tending to
the psychological needs of the students, staff, and community in Broward
County.
I hope that this
discussion has added a different—and, hopefully, practical and
action-focused—perspective to this tragedy.
In order to learn from history, however, we need to act to change
history.
While it is
frustrating that we have not changed the contemporary history of school
shootings, we must transcend the frustration and act now to change the next
hour, day, week, month, and school year for every student across this
country.
This is our
responsibility. This must be our
commitment.
Let me know how I
can assist you in this charge. I am
always available by e-mail or conference call.
Best,
Howie
