Dawayne Hill & Khadean Coombs
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writers
Arming school teachers is an idea that gets Shira Fishman-Printup riled up because the McKinley Technology High School math teacher insists that instructors “are not trained to be security guards and police officers.”
McKinley is the only STEM application school in the Washington, D.C. public school system, which sits only miles from the White House where President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have signaled an interest in allowing certain school personnel to have guns. The discussions have intensified since 17 people were killed last month in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
“We are trained to teach our youth about our content like math and social studies, but we are not trained to be security guards and police officers,” Fishman-Printup said in an interview. “Aside from lack of training, I also do not feel comfortable with the thought of guns in classrooms in case of misfire, accidents or guns getting into the wrong hands.”
Fishman-Printup’s comments came a day before a central California high school teacher accidentally discharged a semiautomatic handgun as it was pointed at the ceiling. The teacher, Dennis Alexander, told police he was going to use the gun for a demonstration about how to disarm someone and was checking if the weapon was loaded. Three students in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District were injured, mainly from falling debris and bullet fragments.
“Teachers should not be armed with guns,” said Lashunda Reynolds, who teaches social studies at McKinley Tech. “Educators’ primary goal is to effectively ensure that our students are able to compete academically.
“We are trained in the realms of implementing curriculum and instruction in a myriad of disciplines to ensure that they are receiving the foundational skills to be global leaders,” said Reynolds. “I personally did not get into this profession to be armed while lecturing.”
Reynolds called the discussions about arming teachers absurd and unworthy of further debate or discussion. However, debate and discussions are rampant throughout the country, as school shootings continue both inside and outside school buildings. While Trump leans towards arming teachers, Gov. Larry Hogan in nearby Maryland is pushing efforts to make school buildings more secure.
In February, Hogan, a Republican, announced a $125 million commitment to enhance safety improvements in schools across the state. These safety enhancements would include secure doors and windows, metal detectors, security cameras, panic buttons. In addition, he called for $50 million in operating funds each year for new school safety grants, which he said could be used to hire additional school resource officers, and counselors.
As an immediate action to make schools safer, Hogan submitted a $5 million supplemental budget to provide $2.5 million each for the Maryland Center for School Safety Operations and School Safety Assessment. He said the funding would support the hiring of analysts and social media trackers, as well as access to resources in more regions of the state.
Hogan’s efforts do not satisfy other state leaders who favor arming school employees. Maryland State Del. Rick Impallaria, a Republican who represents Baltimore and Harford counties, has proposed a bill to allow school boards the ability to arm school employees. After the Parkland shooting, this was an idea floated by Trump. Impallaria’s proposal is one of more than 30 bills on gun violence circulating through the Maryland Legislature.
Firearms cannot be carried on school grounds under Maryland law. But Impallaria said the licenses for these guns in his proposal would be provided by the Maryland State Police.
Hogan said he opposes Impallaria’s bill but favors another bill that would ban bump stocks.
“I want to be very clear, my most important responsibility is keeping the citizens of Maryland safe, and the most important responsibility we all have is to keep our children safe,” Hogan said. “Let’s get it done together.”
George Arlotto, the superintendent of Anne Arundel County Public Schools, said teachers with guns may complicate the situation for police during active shooting, and that teachers with guns can be mistaken for the shooter and be shot.
“I need teachers teaching,” Arlotto said.
The Baltimore Teachers Union, AFL-CIO, which represents 6,000 teachers, paraprofessionals and school-related personnel, called the proposed bill “the latest example of their stark disconnect from the true needs of public schools districts across the country.”
“By supporting the NRA’s reckless stance on gun legislation and suggesting educators carry firearms in response to the Parkland tragedy, it is clear that many of our legislators are willing to ignore the safety of millions of students, parents and educators for a controversial, politically motivated agenda,” said a union statement.
Both McKinley Tech teachers said they feel save in their school environment. The Northeast Washington school, which has more than 700 students, is equipped with metal detectors and x-ray machines that every student and guest must go through before reaching the general population. Also the school has security and resource officers. McKinley Tech officials said the school also has implemented a new protocol for active shooters to ensure student safety.
Reynolds also credits the safe environment to the school’s ability to tackle mental health.
“I also feel that our mental health team made up of social workers, teacher psychologists, school counselors, do an amazing job of identifying students whom seem to have social emotional barriers that may make one cause harm to themselves or others,” Reynolds said.