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Nearly half of teachers want to quit or transfer their jobs because they’re concerned about school climate and school safety. Almost 35% of school psychologists and social workers and 30% of school administrators feel the same way.
That is according to the new report from the American Psychological Association that surveyed nearly 15,000 school staff between July 2020-June 2021. Below we discuss more findings from the report and how schools can support and protect staff from this increased violence.
What Are the Rates of School Violence Against Staff?
Although most schools were remote during the survey period, violence towards school staff remained high. One-third of teachers and over 35% of school admins experienced at least one incident of verbal violence, such as threats, intimidation, sexual harassment, and cyberbullying, from students.
Physical violence also continued even through remote and hybrid learning, with 14% of teachers and 22% of staff (paraprofessionals, aides, and school resource officers) reporting physical incidents, like a student attacking or throwing objects at them. One survey participant stated, “I have been physically assaulted multiple times by students in the building… I ended up in the hospital the last time it happened.”
But students weren’t the only ones causing concerning issues. Nearly 30% of teachers and over 40% of school administrators experienced threatening or verbal violence from parents during the 2020-2021 school year. Many reported physical violence and attacks as well, noting that aggression and verbal abuse from parents is at an all-time high.
“I have never had such aggression toward me from the community, the board of education, and my administration in my life…I have been called ungrateful, lazy, whiny, entitled, uncaring, heartless, selfish, stupid, and more…all by adults,” one participant shared.
How Can Schools Support Staff and Equip Them to Protect Themselves?
Teachers who participated in the survey want policies, procedures, and interventions that can help them identify, address, and respond to student behavior issues. Teachers and staff should be included in school safety discussions and policy development. It’s important schools consider their feedback and expertise as they develop emergency operations plans.
Teachers and staff should also be empowered to ask for help from wherever they are on campus. All school staff should have a mobile panic button with Team Assist. This enables staff to activate an alert and instantly notify others—like the principal or school resource officer (SRO)—about the type of incident and what assistance is needed. If a situation escalates, the mobile panic button should enable users to directly call or text 9-1-1 and automatically share critical details, such as caller name and precise location on campus, with dispatchers.
Raptor Alert, a mobile panic button, empowers staff to do just that—and much more—so that any size situation can quickly be addressed and resolved.
To learn more about Raptor, contact us to schedule a personalized demo.
