I was curious to hear thoughts on the impact of increasing physical building security measures in schools, namely armed security, among students with trauma histories. The research (and quite frankly, the logic) does not support such measures; while the objective impact on school violence is generally non-significant, it tends to make students and staff feel less safe. Just the perception of safety is not trivial when considering its impact on learning and general functioning. Still, I have not come across any research on the impact of such measures on students with trauma histories, particularly those with previous exposure to violence.
I just heard that a school in Marlboro, N.J. added armed security, which greeted students and parents as they dropped off their students this morning. Regardless of opinion, this defies the research. Further, aside from the devastating tragedy at Sandy Hook ES last month, during the 2009-2010 there was one violent death in school per 2.9 million students enrolled nationwide. Shouldn't our resources go elsewhere, such as toward developing an infrastructure and professional development for trauma-sensitive schools?
I wrote a brief oped on this topic last week for a paper in Canada: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/op-ed/After+Newtown+security+efforts+must+sacrifice+students/7758466/story.html.
Still, I'm interested in your thoughts on how this might impact traumatized students.