Navigating the Challenges of K-12 Education Safety in 2023
The first “regular” academic year since the outbreak of COVID-19 has reached halfway as districts across the nation have completed their much-needed holiday breaks. Undeniably, this school year has been exceptionally difficult for teachers as they work to restore everything that COVID-19 destroyed. The ongoing threat of active shooter incidents and gun-related tragedies has added an additional layer of complexity to maintaining a sense of safety and normalcy in classrooms. While we have all learned a lot since Spring 2020, it is evident that most educators and administrators are still attempting to determine the best way to move forward in a productive, meaningful, and successful manner. Teachers have expended enormous time and emotional energy over the previous two years to meet students’ needs.
This year, as teachers attempt to reacclimate students to the demands of a face-to-face learning environment while continuing to promote hybrid and remote learning possibilities, the effects of students missing out on so much academic instruction are even more apparent. Teachers, kids, and families have all found it challenging to strike this delicate and frequently exhausting balance as we all try to determine the best course of action.
Regarding school safety for the new school year and in the future, we have been improving our tech-driven gun-related prevention tool, POSSafetyNet℠, with the schools we serve. At Protecting Our Students (POS), we are acutely aware of the need to contribute to the prevention of violence rather than add to the administration’s workload. We’ve worked hard to interact with our schools, prioritize their feedback, and offer support where it really counts for school safety and security. As we start a new year, we’re eager to continue to uphold this safety and protection commitment.
While instructors are increasingly aware of their own requirements and how to prioritize students’ safety, POS is more tuned into these needs and what works and doesn’t. Schools are now better informed about the security technology they demand and how to use it to their benefit. We anticipate that districts will assess the success of our POSSafetyNet℠, and the technical decisions for school safety they took during the epidemic in 2020 and 2022. We expect that districts will place an even greater emphasis on streamlining and maximizing the use of POSSafetyNet℠, for their safety decisions and providing gun-related prevention services that blatantly show user-friendly safety outcomes – more safety than security.
Regarding new trends for 2023, we think accessibility and integration will be crucial. Combining the technologies they use in a way that gives students a feeling of a safe environment and high-quality, helpful information for schools, so they can better secure their student’s overall comfort is what our customers at POS say they value most. The areas that prioritize student learning, engagement, well-being, and information that enables educators to better address the needs of their students on a comprehensive level will be where the most vital trends emerge.
