Are we prepared for an active school shooter?
February 11, 2020
After the recent scare of a possible school shooter on December 10, 2019, many students wonder if we are prepared for the next situation. You could never be too careful to say that we are prepared, but many changes and preparation for another situation is issued.
According to East head dean Matt Dugan, new lockdown plans include,” listening to a lot of feedback from students and staff, reviewing a lockdown video to show exactly what to do in case the school hits another hard lockdown.” Dugan then said “internally” they are working on a”system to improve communication among staff and planning mental reps to students.”
Sadly, it is impossible to prevent an incident as many schools have experienced, but all schools within district 201 have improved on their security to make a big change and minimize the risks and threats to Morton students and staff.
Samantha • May 4, 2021 at 12:52 pm
Judge: I don’t think anyone can be prepared for such a thing. It’s scary thinking that those you practice the active school shooter drills with, are the ones most likely to do it.
Rebecca Sosa (Belmares) • Feb 9, 2021 at 1:19 pm
I honesty don’t think were ready if a school shooting were to happen like how do you get ready for that? It’s sad we live in a world where we have to prepare and practice what to do in case of a school shooting. Regardless of all the practice some kids still take it as a joke because they think it will never happen here.
Abigail Gonzalez • Feb 15, 2020 at 10:55 am
Genge- I honestly don’t think Morton east is ready for an an active shooter. There was a major problem with school staff communicating with each other or with the Cicero police. I know they where trying to keep everybody safe but the miscommunication caused the process to take way to long.
Carolina Antunez • Feb 14, 2020 at 5:20 pm
– Genge
The active shooter incidents have increased during the last few years. It’s good that the schools are improving the security and making other changes to protect the students from another incident like that. The school might want to make some changes, for example on December 10th i was in the auditorium and we didn’t heard about a lock down until we heard the bell and started heading out to our next class and that had a lot of people worried and confused on what was happening.
Osvaldo.R • Feb 14, 2020 at 2:01 pm
Genge- I honestly don’t believe that Morton East is prepared for a school shooter because some students think that that would never happen to this school, I bet that all of the other students from the schools that had a school shooter tough the same thing, there are also students who just joke around with school shootings. People like to joke about what they are scared of since it makes them look like if they are not scared and all of those students that are scared will probably be consumed by their fear which would make it hard to follow orders and remember lock down plans.
Diana Mendez • Feb 14, 2020 at 1:47 pm
Ms.Genge 5th Hour
Many people were impacted by the recent active shooter lock down, and this has inspired the school to be even more prepared for a next time. In EveryTownResearch they say that it may cause more problems if teachers and staffs are armed. It is also said ‘To expect a teacher to make split-second, life-or-death decisions to protect children and themselves or try to take down an active shooter is unrealistic.” Which I definitely agree with, it is very unsafe as well.
Alexandra uresti • Feb 14, 2020 at 1:42 pm
“Genge” 2019 was a dreadful year for the United States, having 417 mass shootings. I don’t think we are prepared for a shooting. Too many jokes about the situation people won’t take it serious until something bad actually happens.
Leslie Barajas • Feb 14, 2020 at 1:41 pm
Genge: I honestly think we are not ready for a shooter why? because we haven’t really gone through steps if someone is Actually in the school we just know to hide but i feel there’s need to be more steps to that. According to an article no one is prepared for a shooter.Through the end of July, there have been 22 school shootings in 2019. The security should be a bit more tight when students are entering the school or actually the school should have something so we can scan ids before entering the school. Checking kids ID’s before they enter should be a thing that occurs daily because there is days where the security guards don’t pay attention to who enters and kids dont have their ID’s on.
Ricardo M. • Feb 14, 2020 at 1:37 pm
Genge- I don’t think that the school is fully prepared for a shooter, even if security is enforced it not enough to alarm everyone if it were to happen on one side of the school. If the school had more security like cameras, more guards, and more communication between the students or teachers and the school it would be safer but not a guaranteed safety.
Alfredo Martinez • Feb 14, 2020 at 1:35 pm
“Genge – I honestly think that we aren’t but at the same time we still have common knowledge to know what do in these situations which is helping us move towards less and less deaths in a shooing. According to an article by CNN, theres been an increase in shootings throughout the last 10 years. i feel like we have a good chance of surviving such of an event like that due to the overwhelming amount of exits and entrances that are in this school. Although we will always live in a world of hate and war, these shootings can be prevented by just being able to be there for them which can help us move forward for a better and safer education.
Juan V • Feb 14, 2020 at 1:27 pm
Genge –
In the past Decade there has been 180 school shootings and 356 victims. Study’s have shown that a person to that is more likely to shoot up a school is because they are depressed and having the feeling to hurt people. In each school shootings at least 1 person has gotten shot. Also just in 2019 there have been 417 total school shootings.
Haven • Feb 14, 2020 at 1:21 pm
I honestly dont know if we really are prepared for an active school shooter. I feel like since that was the first time and no one knew how to fee or dont know what to dol, imagine an actual shooter.
Oscar Bonilla • Feb 14, 2020 at 12:55 pm
Genge-I dont believe that Morton is ready for a school shooter. The security should be a bit more tight when students are entering the school. Checking kids ID’s before they enter should be a thing that occurs daily because there is days where the security gaurds dont pay attention to who enters and kids dont have their ID’s on. This is one of many things that morton could easily fix to have a more secure and safe school.
Yaremy Orozco • Feb 14, 2020 at 12:42 pm
Genge – I don’t think no school is prepared for an active school shooter. Yes, I think drills can be helpful for situations like this but what school does not have drills? and still horrible shootings at schools happen. A better way is tighten up security, cameras, and stay alerted. Communication is so important whether it is between student-parent, student-teacher we have to stay updated .
Jesus Ayala • Feb 14, 2020 at 12:39 pm
Genge-As stated in many comments, i also disagree with the school improving the safety for students within the school from an active shooter, as said above there isn’t much evidence proving that the school has improved security. It is bizarre that there are people out there committing horrible crimes, there needs to be a better improvement within the security.
Yailin Sepulveda • Feb 14, 2020 at 12:37 pm
Genge- I think that it is important for us to be extremely cautious and careful when it comes to a lock down and a school shooting. I believe that this school should take every measure to make sure that the students and staff inside and outside are safe. Studies have shown that many school hooting happen because of revenge. Whether it is form a student that is being bullied or it happens from an old student who still angry from something that happened to him or her years ago. Also, they can be committed by students that are withdrawn form drugs or any illegal substance. This is why we always have to be careful with who we let in our building.
valeria serrano • Feb 14, 2020 at 12:36 pm
Genge: i personally don’t think that Morton East is ready for a school shooting to happen. yea of course we have lockdowns and places to hide but are we really prepared for something like that? we have security but they’re not even armed to dead with something as big as an active shooter. we should have a more stable plan incase that an event like this would ever occur.
Julian Betancourt • Feb 14, 2020 at 12:35 pm
Genge-Honestly we just need more trust between the students and staff, it ain’t snitching cause he is out ot get everyone if a shooter really came. The students need to understand that suspcious looking people could be dangerous, like you really do not know their intentions so why even allow them to continue around the place. we just need to inform security if there is some really strange person roaming the halls.
Gisell Estrada • Feb 14, 2020 at 12:34 pm
Genge- Personally, I feel as if we arent fully prepared yet. I say this due to the idea of being trapped in the auditorium the amount of kids whose lives could be taken if there isnt the right protection when stuck in a lockdown while being in the auditorium. To be in the shooter’s perspective and say they were a past graduate who knows the school, what if they go into the auditorium due to the lack of protection that is provided and happens to see all these kids in there and starts firing willingly
Angel Ramirez • Feb 14, 2020 at 12:29 pm
Genge: Personally, I think we cannot possibly be prepared for an active shooter. The time that a shooter can come in is unknown, and with light security in certain areas of the school, leads me to believe that we’re not yet ready to protect ourselves from an outside threat. It could take minutes for security to find out someone is in the building, which should be improvised on. The security in the school would not be able to prevent any harmful acts in time unfortunately.
Abygail Crespo • Feb 14, 2020 at 12:26 pm
Ms. Genge:
I honestly feel that we are not prepared for a hard lock-down or any situation that could bring harm to the school. Morton East High School should’ve already have had their security and protocols on 100 at all times throughout the school year and throughout heir years of being open. It shouldn’t take an incident or “scare” to allow for the staff members to bring attention to it and then fix what needs to be fixed. However, I love the fact that staff members realize this and are now trying their best to keep the students who attend the school safe.
Juan Lopez • Feb 14, 2020 at 12:25 pm
Genge: School shootings and the would be school shooters have become a freighting norm for the united states in the last decade. According to CNN, 45 school shootings have happened in the United States in 2019 alone. I believe we should do shooter drills and have more security, having more dead kids wouldn’t be epic. I feel while we should do shooter drills, we shouldn’t do an active shooter situation because it could scare multiple students and bother them. I don’t think we can easily prevent a shooting, but we can tighten security (like doors, personnel etc) With improved drills and good security, we can minimize or prevent deaths in case of a shooting.
Angel Ramirez • Feb 14, 2020 at 12:24 pm
Genge: Personally, I think we cannot possibly be prepared for an active shooter. The time that a shooter can come in is unknown, and with light security in certain areas of the school, leads me to believe that we’re not yet ready to protect ourselves from an outside threat. It could take minutes for security to find out someone is in the building, which should be improvised on.
Juan Ramirez • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:46 am
Genge-
Gun shootings are a massive problem in America to were in the past 3 years there has been a minimum of 300+ gun shootings each year. While in 2019 it surpassed that with 417 gun shootings with 31 of those gun shootings being mass murders. I think that if the students are able to report any suspicious activity as soon as they hear or saw it. We can probably prevent many gun shootings.
Daniel Martinez • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:44 am
-Genge 2nd hour
Personally i do not feel as if our school would be ready for a school shooter we have not tooken any cautions after that intercede visibly in school. Did you know that the most common day shooting take place are on friday’ compared to other days of the week.
Carolina Tapia • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:31 am
“Genge” – In 2019 only, there were 25 school shootings that occured during school hours, and school grounds. 43 people were injured, and 8 people were killed (3 of those people were students, and the other 5 were school staff). For this reason schools have been wanting to perform active school shooting drills, however, that doesn’t make anything better. Those drills have caused students to not be able to sleep, and concentrate in class. There should be something better that could help. But overall, no school will ever be ready for an active shooter. No students will be able to think, “If there was a school shooter here right now, i will be safe, and I will know what to do.” That’s not possible, yes, the schools security level should be high for this type of scenario, but nothing will ever be guaranteed. You just have to be careful and alert
Juan Reyes • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:26 am
Genge- I honestly don’t think we are ready for a school shooter. Schools still don’t take the proper steps to accomplish this or establish a stable sens of security. According to CNN, there was 45 school shooting all over the US in 2019. From California to Georgia, kids lives were at stake and in all those, an active shooter was there. This happens because of gun laws but also because of the poor decision making our schools have. Here in Morton, literally anyone can enter during breakfast hour and do their horrendous act if they so decide . Security Guards won’t do anything, there is no security in our school and i hate to say it but we are not safe. It is scary that in order to feel safe we have to be completely locked out and extra careful, but that is what the world has turned to. In 2018, that Valentines day 17 innocent people died to Nikola Cruz. Innocent kids who had lived ahead and our country still takes no steps towards greater security. Sure, it might be scary seeing our school be completely locked but at least we would be safe. School shootings just keep occurring and its scary to say i don’t feel safe here.
Ana Flores • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:25 am
Ms. Genge- Morton East is not fully prepared in case of a school shooting. We have security walking around making sure the school is safe but I feel like that isn’t enough. Some ways we can help with that problem are: Implementing a threat assessment team. Studies show attackers often engage in behaviors that concern others prior to a shooting. Developing an emergency management plan. The plan should address critical response practices, such as lockdowns, evacuations, parent-student reunification, and how to mobilize mental health services.Form community partnerships and training staff.
Carolina Tapia • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:21 am
“Genge” – In 2019 only, there were 25 school shootings that occured during school, or in school grounds. In those school shootings there has been 43 people injured, 8 people killed ( 3 of those were students, and the rest were school staff). For that reason schools have been wanting to do some active school shooter drills, which doesn’t help at all. Those drills only traumatize students, it’s supposed to help staff and students be ready, but that has only caused students to not be able to sleep, and causing them to not be able to concentrate in class. There should be a better way to prepare students and staff for a school shooter scenario. No school is ever ready for an active school shooter, it’s not possible. People should be able to feel safe especially in a place like school. No one can think “if there was a school shooter right now I would be okay and I’ll be able to be safe” because nothing is guaranteed, schools should definitely have a good security, and a plan. But there’s a chance of something happening. No school will ever be ready for such a thing happening.
Nathalie • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:14 am
Genge- According to edurisksolutions, the staff team must always be prepared to react to potential danger they see, in order to keep the students and other staff safe. What is being said in this article is true. The security team needs a new plan to keep the students safe and maintain communication with each other.
Nathalie Sedano • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:13 am
According to edurisksolutions, the staff team must always be prepared to react to potential danger they see, in order to keep the students and other staff safe. What is being said in this article is true. The security team needs a new plan to keep the students safe and maintain communication with each other.
Jose A. • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:10 am
There could also be more plans to encourage students to report someone if they hear or see something suspicious. I am glad that thy are working on making communication better so we can be more safe. Also, the use of quotation marks in the second paragraph made it harder to read the article.
Nathalie Sedano • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:09 am
Genge- According to “edurisksolutions”, they stated that staff members along with the security team should be trained to recognize potential danger. I do believe that the staff need a new plan in how to react to the potential danger.
Jazmine Medina • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:07 am
Genge-
“If in recent years it seems that school shootings are happening more frequently, occupying public discourse and media coverage, it’s because they are. Although school shootings are still very rare compared to daily gun violence, the data show they are happening more often.” School shooting have become more frequent and as included, it is true that we can not stop something like a shooting from happening but we sure can prepare our school in case of another scare like from what had happened on December 10th. The students and staff will surely take the drills and lock downs more serious because of the scare that we had.
jair gutierrez • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:04 am
Genge- everytown.org suggests that there should be high risk laws and many programs for teachers to be ready for such things. they also suggested to make emergency trauma plans if it happens.
Karina Perez • Feb 14, 2020 at 9:39 am
Genge- School shootings are something very serious and very frightening that sadly nowadays has a higher chance of taking place. Morton should try and practice more drills so that students can take it seriously and know what to do and what not to do if it were ever to happen. In the article it said, “While school shootings are difficult to predict, practices for prevention emerge from national studies.” Being prepared for any possible situation is important for the safety of students and staff in the building.
Michael Fuentes • Feb 14, 2020 at 9:33 am
Michael.F, Genge- although that school’s across the nation are preparing teachers and staff for possible school shootings, I do not believe that we are prepared mainly because I see a lack of discussion around the topic knowing that in recent years, such as 2018 there has been more than 24 school shootings. I think that we should continue with drills, but to also have more discussions through out the school about it.
Francisco Roa • Feb 14, 2020 at 9:32 am
Ms.Genge
According to edurisksolutions.org, we should Create a crisis communications plan, Implement a threat assessment team, and Examine campus facilities and grounds to identify security weaknesses. Ding things like should help us prepare if the unthinkable happens.
Humberto Villasenor • Feb 14, 2020 at 9:26 am
Genge:
Last year, in just 46 weeks, there have been 45 school shootings where, at least one person was shot not including the shooter, This was in the U.S from kindergarten to college. That’s nearly an average of one school shooting a week. In Kindergarten through 12th grade there was 32 of them.
James Weaver • Feb 14, 2020 at 9:22 am
Genge- School shootings around the U.S have become a common threat and any type of school, even if they increase security is still at risk of having a active shooter. I disagree that many changes have been made to improve and decrease the liability of Morton having a active shooter because they state no facts about how it improved. This article does have some punctuation issues like adding a comma after Dugan then said,”internally.”
Dulce Moreno • Feb 14, 2020 at 9:21 am
Genge: I do not think this school is ready for a shooting. Security and communication is key in situations like these as well as a students safety. Gun safety is also something huge that many people don’t think about and once a gun is in someones possession it is unknown what they could do with it. Just in 2019 there were 417 mass shootings, 1,643 people were injured and 517 died, for a total of 2160 victims.
Esmeralda Ramirez • Feb 14, 2020 at 9:15 am
Genge- I think that it’s important to establish a line of communication between the students, parents, and staff about what is actually happening to be accurately informed and not give in to false news. Therefore, I don’t think we’re completely ready for an active school shooter. Due to school shootings being very common, it’s important to plan a drill in advance about what to do and what precautions to take. According to studies, it’s also important to think about how students and staff will react and feel after the incident (if it ever occurs), are we ready to emotionally support such a trauma?
Humberto Villasenor • Feb 14, 2020 at 9:15 am
Last year in 46 weeks there have been 45 school shootings, where at least one student got shot, just in the U.S. from kindergarten to college campuses. That’s nearly an average of one school shooting a week. Just from kindergarten- 12th grade 32 of them took place.
Briana Serrano • Feb 14, 2020 at 9:10 am
Genge: Acts of violence against staff and students in educational institutions isn’t something that surprises today’s society anymore. Issues like this are now seen as common, and schools have to try to do their best to protect their community against such events. Many people agree that putting more pressure on security will decrease the chances of letting something like this happen, and that’s very accurate but it’s not the only way to go around this problem. Applying more social, mental, and emotional support within easy access in the school would let us benefit everybody. Instead of having a student make themselves be seen through an act of violence, let them feel comfortable enough to go to somebody of authority about what they’re experiencing.
Sergio Ramirez • Feb 14, 2020 at 9:06 am
Genge- Statistics have shown that in the past 10 years there have been 180 school shootings, and just in 2019 there have been 417 mass shootings.
Diana C. • Feb 14, 2020 at 7:48 am
Genge-
School shootings have become an often threat in America. This has influenced the the nations largest education union and its largest gun safety organization to present a plan for the schools safety. Their plan include to raise the age for a semiautomatic firearm purchase, create an evidence-based threat assessment programs in school, implement expert-endorsed school security upgrades, and many others things. It is horrible to think that school shooting have become a common issue. With that said, it is also nice to hear that there are groups of people working to improve the security in all of America and that the school is trying to improve security as well.
Diana C. • Feb 14, 2020 at 7:46 am
School shootings have become an often threat in America. This has influenced the the nations largest education union and its largest gun safety organization to present a plan for the schools safety. Their plan include to raise the age for a semiautomatic firearm purchase, create an evidence-based threat assessment programs in school, implement expert-endorsed school security upgrades, and many others things. It is horrible to think that school shooting have become a common issue. With that said, it is also nice to hear that there are groups of people working to improve the security in all of America and that the school is trying to improve security as well.
Moises Avila • Feb 14, 2020 at 7:38 am
Genge – 2019 was a dreadful year for the United States, having 417 mass shootings. Other than having lock-downs, does our school have to implement other devices to prevent a mass shooting from happening?
leslye carrasco • Feb 14, 2020 at 7:35 am
Genge-
In the past 10 years there has been 180 school shootings and 356 victims.
Statistics have shown, more school shootings are likely to happen on Fridays and during the afternoon.
connection- On February 14 2018 a gun-man open fire at Douglas High school in Parkland.
Genge 0 Hour Dave Alvarez • Feb 14, 2020 at 7:23 am
Genge 0 Hour
It is important to keep the school safe for many reasons other than our immediate safety. Some of these reasons include to maintain good mental health, be successful in life and be less likely to suffer depression. Because of the school’s importance in the community it is vital to keep and maintain a safe environment in order for the wellbeing of the whole town. Some things that may help with avoiding this is by keeping a armed police officer inside the school and having transparency with the student body in the school.
Leonardo Castillo Alba • Feb 14, 2020 at 7:20 am
Genge, You could never forget that day, ever. It will be always be a reminder to all the students that we aren’t always safe and think it will never happen to us. It was the most shocking day of my life, it’s really frightening to know how there are people who just waltz into the school and start shooting. But luckily the people who got into the school weren’t active shooters. No, we are extremely lucky because there could have been even more problems if they were active. I’m scared if there would be a next time when they come back. Till this day on, I will not leave my jacket in my locker on half days and during winter. I’m too nervous if they will come back and planned on a attack on a half a day.
Jilian Arellano • Feb 14, 2020 at 7:18 am
Genge- There are times were you don’t know what is going to occur in school but we always have to be prepared in case a shooting does occur. in the year 2019 there was 45 school shooting in just 46 weeks, with an average of one school shooting a week. in that case 32 of them where from grade kindergarten though 12th grade
Alexandra Guadalupe Campos • Feb 14, 2020 at 7:18 am
Genge- There is times where i realize that this school isn’t all that ready in case a school shooting happened. some ways we could prepare for a school shooting is by 1,.Plan and practice for active shooters by developing a classroom lockdown plan and conducting classroom lockdown drills. and 2) Ensure that classrooms have adequate emergency supplies to meet the needs of every student and staff member in the event of a school shooting.
Marcela Alvarez • Feb 14, 2020 at 7:17 am
Genge – Some ways that Morton could prepare for an active shooter could involve tightening security while class is in session. There could also be more initiatives to encourage students to report someone if they hear/see something suspicious. The misuse of quotation marks in the second paragraph made it harder to read the article.
Karen Avelar • Feb 14, 2020 at 7:16 am
Genge: According to EdWeek.org, In Florida, state lawmakers rushed to respond to the Parkland shooting by passing a safety bill that included new gun restrictions and a requirement that every school campus in the state have at least one armed person on site; either a law enforcement officer or a staff member participating in a new state program.
Nailea Chavez • Feb 14, 2020 at 7:12 am
Genge : Studies show that honest and timely communication during a lockdown are very important. I think it is also important to communicate with parents during a lockdown because on December 10 many parents might have heard false information and were worried about their children.