Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to provide a more comprehensive look at the role of district and building administrators in dealing with the safety and security of students and staff. I investigated how the district and building administrators created a climate of safety both before and after this tragic school shooting. I also looked at what these building and district school administrators are doing to prevent school shootings from occurring on their campuses. My interest in this topic stemmed from having been involved in a 2001 school-related shooting in a school system and community. Five overarching themes emerged from the interviews at North Weatherford High School and North Weatherford community (a) No one thought a school shooting could happen at North Weatherford High School; (b) School shootings were not thought of as an issue during that time period; (c) Very little could have been done by the school to prevent the school shooting; (d) Several changes were made to safety and security protocols after the school shooting; (e) Today safety and security is listed as a top priority in the school system. This qualitative study resulted in three recommendations. One recommendation for safety and security is that all staff members should be trained in the area of safety and security. A second recommendation is that all members of the school should develop relationships with students so that students would be able to tell them in confidence any information relative to students who are bullied, school campus and student safety and security, weapons brought to campus, or student-to-student threats. A third recommendation for safety and security derived from this research is that every school in the United States, regardless of size, should hire an armed School Resource Officer to protect those inside the school during the time of an attempted tragic event.

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