Opinion: School safety is about more than just guns

Opinion: School safety is about more than just guns


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Although violence and shootings at school are a concern, the high profile of recent incidents means they will be addressed, but school safety should be about more than just violence and guns.

The preoccupation with violent injuries and deaths at school distracts from the danger of injuries caused by other school activities.

“The majority of injuries at school are unintentional, not violent," according to the School Health Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Injuries at school are most likely to occur on playgrounds (particularly on climbing equipment), on athletic fields, and in gymnasiums. Injuries during shop class account for 7% of injuries at school. The most frequent causes of school-associated injuries resulting in hospitalization are falls (43%) and sports activities (34%). Assaults account for 10% of school-associated injuries resulting in hospitalization.”

School injuries resulting in hospitalizations
By the numbers:
  • Falls: 43%
  • Sports activities: 34%
  • Assaults: 10%
  • Shop class: 7%

-Source: CDC

The Associated Press and Charlotte Observer report science experiments in school science laboratories injure students across the country. The article notes “at least 150 students have been seriously injured in school lab accidents in the past four years. But the number is almost certainly much higher, according to interviews with researchers, school officials and insurance companies. Researchers found that more than 70 percent of high school science teachers had never received safety training.”

The CDC noted more than 200,000 children 14 and younger are treated in emergency rooms for injuries received on playgrounds, with most taking place on school playgrounds. The report also indicates that 147 playground deaths occurred in a 10-year period, or approximately 15 per year. In the 2009-10 school year 17 deaths at schools were the result of violence.

Sports-related injuries exceed the number of injuries resulting from violence.

“An estimated 1,442,533 injuries occurred among U.S. high school student athletes participating in practices or competitions for the nine sports studied," according to a 2006 study by the Center for Injury Research and Policy. "The overall (i.e., practice and competition) injury rate in all sports combined was 2.44 injuries per 1,000 athletes.”


The majority of injuries at school are unintentional, not violent. Injuries at school are most likely to occur on playgrounds (particularly on climbing equipment), on athletic fields, and in gymnasiums.

–CDC School Health Guidelines


Weight room injuries in high schools and middle schools are on the rise. According to the American Journal of Sports Medicine, the incidence of weight room injuries has increased 48.4 percent in recent years as the emphasis on strength training has increased. Most alarming was the fact that the highest incidence of injury was among people ages 13-18 in school weight rooms.

Add to these numbers the injuries in classes and areas in schools not considered to be dangerous environments, such as stages and scene shops, art rooms with kilns, hazardous materials with glazes and paints, and craft knives. Then consider vocational shops with welding, foundry, and other metal and woodworking equipment, auto body and mechanic tools and equipment creating the same industrial safety concerns that exist in the “real world”.

As you investigate and consider the safety of your child’s school, look at the issue in terms larger than just acts of violence. School safety should be directed by your school and district administration with a holistic approach that addresses everything that could affect students.

Guy Bliesner is a longtime educator, having taught and coached tennis and swimming. He is school safety and security administrator for the Bonneville School District in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Guy has been married for 26 years and has three children.

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