Students and teachers have been doing lockdown drills for years. It has become a common occurrence. But what about the moment it’s not? What happens the day it’s not a drill? This topic continues to concern me. Students and teachers should not have to worry for their safety. School is a place for fun and learning, our safety shouldn’t have to be at the forefront of our thoughts while we are focusing on our education.

In recent years, I have found myself worried about my own safety in school. This should not be the case. Last year we had a lockdown event. At that moment, I was unsure what was happening and I, alongside many students, feared for my life. In the end, it was revealed that it was a false alarm, but the abruptness of the lockdown left many feeling uneasy.

The school board is not taking strong enough action to help ensure safety and peace of mind for students. Some possibilities for other safety procedures our schools could implement could be things like metal detectors or bag checks when entering the buildings. Schools claim to prioritize safety first, but in my opinion they aren’t acting like safety is truly their biggest concern.

In the past year there have been 47 school shootings with several casualties of innocent lives. Schools should be required to take better care of their students; this amount of deaths happening within schools is not acceptable. I do not want to imagine a world where I send my child to school and they don’t come back. I especially don’t want to imagine it when there are things schools can do to prevent it.