Chris and Jim-
Thank you for your thorough and thoughtful replies. The articles you shared, which I had seen previously, are truly incredible and inspirational. I agree with your general points that the presence of armed security alone does not decrease perceived safety or even necessarily decrease violence; those individuals need to contribute and commit to the overall trauma-informed school culture.
Jim, are the SROs in your school armed? I wonder what impact that has on the students knowing they are armed - or if they would be more or less effective in their roles without a firearm in their holster?
I suppose my other question in my original post was the concept of the impact of seeing an armed guard in a school for students that have witnessed serious violence at home or in the community. Would walking into a school and seeing a firearm trigger a response that would be qualitatively different than that of a student without previous exposure to violence or significant stress? I'm not sure if there is an answer, yet an interesting question.
The topic is highly relevant given the discussion in the media and now in Washington. I'm afraid that many advocates still maintain a narrow view of school safety. The presence of physical school safety measures must be subsumed under a larger initiative to create a safe, supportive, nurturing, and welcoming school environment.
Thanks for the great discussion. Would like to hear your thoughts, even if they are just speculative or opinion, on how just seeing a firearm in a school might impact students across the country (especially those that don't have access to the fantastic resources available at Lincoln High School).