At my school, we train 12-year-olds to throw their laptops at active shooters in order to buy themselves time to run away. There is widespread awareness of school shootings, and schools take measures to address this. My school’s budget includes $99,213 on safety, including purchasing Crisis Alert, a “wearable mobile panic button for rapid incident response.” 

Decisions about where we allocate resources are political, and it’s time for educators to join this conversation. Limiting high-capacity magazines and expanding background checks would keep our children safer. My school’s mission states: “We believe in promoting a safe, caring and ethical learning environment.” This means going to bat for our children by regulating guns. We take proactive approaches to curriculum, behavior and academic support. Physical safety shouldn’t be any different. 

Violence has no place in our schools or in our democracy.

Rebecca Pruente 
Portland