FACT: Schools are among the safest place for children to be.
According to a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 1 percent of all childhood homicides, a majority of which involve guns, occur in schools. Additionally, Dr. Dewey Cornell, a renowned security expert, found in his research that children today are 1,600 times more likely to be killed by gun violence at home than at a school.
While acts of violence in schools are rare, it does not make them any less devastating. As such, administrators, teachers, security staff and other division employees receive annual training on the best practices in school safety and security –both in general and in regards to the specific needs in individual buildings or classrooms.
The division’s Office of Safety and Loss Control also works hand-in-hand with the Virginia Beach Police Department, Virginia Beach Office of Emergency Management, the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services as well as other state and national experts to continue to bring the best practices and state of the art security resources to the division.
In addition, in the division’s latest climate survey, the majority of parents (92 percent) and students (82 percent) agreed that their school is a safe and welcoming place to learn.