Preempting gun violence in schools
Schools that invest strongly in caring for students have less violence, a study finds. Can cities do the same for citizens?
A teacher talks to his students at Ballard High School in Seattle, March 14.
AP
The persistence of mass shootings in the United States has forced many towns and cities to be prepared to react when one occurs. Yet a new study provides an alternative response, one that is proactive. Based on data from 3,253 secondary schools across California between 2001 to 2019, a report by the University of California, Los Angeles found “significant and substantial” reductions in every category of violence – from verbal abuse to confrontations involving weapons.
Overall, said Ron Avi-Astor, a social welfare professor and co-author of the study, “on a day-to-day basis for most students, American schools are safer than they’ve been for many decades.”
The California study notes a correlation between empathy and safety – a “norm shift,” as the authors call it, reflecting a “massive social investment” in measures ranging from emergency preparedness to mental health care. For instance, the study found that 89% of students surveyed felt “there is a teacher or adult who truly cares about me,” or “who tells me when I do a good job,” or “who notices when I’m not there.” Other questions measured high levels of “belongingness” (79%) and being able to “make a difference” (76%).
At the same time, it found a 70% reduction in reports of guns carried onto school grounds and a 59% reduction in threats involving weapons. Those declines in victimization were largest among Black and Latino students.
The study, which found consistent reductions in data tracking school safety nationwide, comes at a time when society more broadly is rethinking violence prevention. Mayors aren’t waiting for national gun reforms. Instead they are trying and sharing a wide range of ideas that draw their communities together with empathy, compassion, and inclusivity.
A Politico survey of 50 mayors found that 70% want more social workers to handle more policing calls involving nonviolent or mental health incidents. More than half said that if given new funding to prevent violence, they would build more affordable housing and better public parks. That regard for quality of life runs in another direction, too. Nearly all said reducing violence also requires better caring for police officers and their families.
The important lesson in the California study may be that empathy begets empathy. That point has special resonance for Jose Sanchez, a high school civics teacher in Monterey Park, California. Two days after a shooter killed 11 people and wounded nine others in his community in January, he sat in his classroom helping his students grapple with the tragedy.
As he wrapped up a class, Mr. Sanchez told Politico last week, “a student patted me on the shoulder and asked if I was OK. It’s not that often that my students ask me how I’m doing.” They knew that two days later he was due to be sworn in as mayor. That caring and compassion can serve as a form of armor against violence.