Parents want to feel their children are safe when they leave for school in the morning, but whether they are or not isn’t always easy to assess.
“As a parent of four children, three of whom have already gone through the Norwich Schools, I feel my child is safe,” said Lynn Parker, president of the Norwich Parent, Teacher and Student Association. “The school has a plan of action in case a situation arose.” Parker acknowledges that school safety is an issue, but she believes that the administration is on top of it.
“I do worry when I hear reports [of school violence] in the media,” she said, “but as a parent, I worry when they’re at school, at work, and on the road.” One area that does concern Parker is the amount of violence within the schools. “One concern I, and many other parents, have is that we’re afraid kids are becoming accustomed to seeing fights.” According to the PTSA president, she hears about an in-school fight almost daily. She is afraid the students will become desensitized to the violence. She feels the presence of a resource officer may help defuse the situation.
School counselor Candace Poyer has worked in the Sherburne-Earlville district for 13 years, without feeling threatened. Poyer deals with many students who are going through difficult times. She sees children dealing with divorce, death, fights with friends and teasing.
Poyer feels the increased amount of school violence in the past years is due to an almost copy cat effect, with Columbine kicking things off. “Most of the reason for school violence is a bullying situation,” Poyer said. The school counselor explained that in her district, if a child goes to her or the principal complaining of being bullied, the issue is seriously addressed. “I think that’s why we haven’t had any serious threats here,” she said.
Poyer sees many students who are coming from troubled home situations. This too may contribute to the problem, she said. “We’re trying to help them deal with that,” she said, “but it’s no more than it was when I first started.”
President of the Norwich School Board Chris Frank agrees that school safety is a concern. Frank said he feels there must be a balance between safety and community access. “We want to create a safe learning environment for the students, while promoting access by the parents,” he said. He explained that the schools serve other purposes aside from acting just as a learning facility. Last Tuesday, for example, two of the Norwich school buildings were used as polling places.
Frank says that school safety is at the discretion of the superintendent, but as a parent with children in the district and as a board member, Frank said he feels the school is doing everything it can to ensure a safe learning environment.
Otselic Valley School Board President Greg Brown is equally confident in his school. “There are circumstances where we are vulnerable, but I think it’s quite safe in the long run,” Brown said. He explained that since Otselic Valley High School is one of the older school buildings in the area, it was not designed for safety, but he maintains efforts are being taken. “We are working all the time, trying to make things better.” Brown too has raised children who went through the school system. He said he does not fool himself into believing that just because OV is located in a rural district, that there is no potential of threat. “You would like to think we’re safe, but you never know where something will come up,” he said. “In this day and age, you can’t take chances.”