MUNCIE— A new Ball State study found that, not surprisingly, media stories of gun violence have caused schools to try to reduce their own risk. But it also found that many schools don't really know what's best.
For the study, "Reducing the Risks of Firearm Violence in High Schools: Principals' Perceptions and Practices," 349 high school principals across the country were surveyed. More than half, 56 percent, said recent events influenced their schools to take precautions. Seventeen percent said there was a "firearm incident" at their school in the past five years.
Although Muncie Community Schools did not participate in the study, the district has implemented a lot of security measures in the last few years aimed at avoiding gun violence.
Since 2013, MCS has added secure entrances, an Internet alarm system connected to a phone application, cameras in every building and more resource officers trained by the National Association of School Resource Officers. Officers and administrators run an active shooter simulation in the summer, and the schools run a lockdown drill once a semester.
MCS Chief of Security & Operations Chuck Hensley has implemented these changes, and paid for almost all of them through state grants, which were created in response to mass school shootings in other states, including Sandy Hook.
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