Much has been written as of late about the need to reconsider policing in our communities.

With the frightening reality that far too many individuals (commonly of color) are injured or dying unnecessarily at the hands of police, cities and towns are reflecting on how to improve policing. 

One of the suggestions that has been gaining traction is to alter the composition of the police force to include individuals specializing in crisis management, mental health and threat reduction.  This has far too often been described or is some cases mischaracterized as “defunding” policing but in truth, it should be about it is about adding to and changing or reconfiguring the skill sets of some members of a police force.

I want to be very clear, before I turn to “policing” in schools.  Adding social workers, mental health professionals and/or differently trained police officers is not a way to suggesting that police who deal with robberies, shootings and violence are unneeded.  It is not an effort to suggest that all police are “bad” and can’t deal with tense situations. Many many police offices exhibit extraordinary restraint and thoughtfulness and courage in situations that many of us would never be able to handle well.  The idea isn’t to send a social worker into a danger zone to defuse a bomb or address the shooting occurring during a bank robbery.

Instead, it is to recognize that many of the situations arising in our homes and communities are the result of mental illness, mental distress, trauma and drug addiction; for these types of situations, aggressive police intervention (or even the presence of uniformed officers) can escalate the situations --- the precise opposite of what most well-thinking individuals want. 

School Policing

At its origins and with the growth of school shootings, the idea of having police within schools was intended to protect students and educators.  Uniformed officers, hopefully with quality training on how to deal with issues within schools and intruders on the outside seeking to do harm, can help protect students and maintain order in hallways and other spaces.  But, and this is a key but, not all school police officers have acted optimally.  Some have over-reacted and others have failed to act.  And the overall effectiveness of school policing, which has risen dramatically over the past several decades, is the matter of considerable debate.

It is high time to think about the kinds of issues students and families will bring into school settings now and which professionals are best suited to address the likely scenarios.   To that end, I want to focus on the impact of the Pandemic on students, their parents/guardians and educators alike.  And, when we  take a focused look at what our school communities are likely to experience in the now, we need to adjust how we navigate the multiple problems that will likely occur in most schools across the nation.  In other words, “policing” can change with the times.

As a precursor to exploring new options, consider how many people are angry right now.  It is evidenced in restaurants. It is evidenced in how we drive and respond to other drivers. It is apparent in what has occurred on airline flights.  It is evident in how we treat each other – from those wearing to those not wearing masks, from those vaccinated to those unvaccinated. I just ordered a mask that says: “Vaccinated but cautious.” I had other choices including masks that said: “Vaccinated and I don’t trust you.”  Can you hear a wee yeek as the message on our masks (not just the masks themselves) can be escalating, not deescalating, friction?

Anger is bubbling over, particularly with the new lack of certainty caused by the Delta variant at a time when we thought (expected) we were seeing light at the end of the tunnel and a return to some semblance of life as we knew it (recognizing there is not going back). Disappointment is surging.  So is frustration and Zoom fatigue.

It is no wonder that police officers are struggling to keep order, to keep things calm, to act with aplomb as rudeness and anger and violence surround them.  Just remember January 6th and the subsequent suicides of officers who were overwhelmed with an angry mob, with many individuals literally hoping to provoke police and worse than that, hoping to injure and maim them.

When Schools Reopen

I have written at length about my concerns with respect to school reopenings for the academic year 2021—2022, recognizing that some schools have already reopened without the needed precautions or training in place. 

I have been worried about a myriad of issues within our school communities including the focus on physical well- being, which while important, cannot overshadow mental wellness. I have been worried about what individuals have experienced over the past 18 months – illness, deaths, suicides, social distancing, family dysfunction, job losses, food scarcity, drug addiction, alcohol overuse, racial harassment, ethnic bias and the lack of our usual cultural, religious and social forms of engagement.  And many of these issues have not been processed (at least fully) psychologically.  Schools have historically not been centers for grieving.

I have been worried about whether educators including administrators are able to recognize the trauma of the pandemic and the symptomology that accompanies it.   If they can’t identify what they are seeing, they won’t know how to respond to it although many teachers have stellar instincts.

Let me explain.

Some trauma symptomology (not all to be sure) produces outsized behavior – students or educators acting out, shouting, throwing things, being disruptive, unable to concentrate or sit still, being disrespectful and saying mean spirited things.  Schools can expect students to exhibit dysregulated behavior – disobeying rules regarding masks and other rules put into place to promote safety and order.  Reentering school will be like having a stuck drawer that is then unstuck and students will let loose, something they likely have not done in effective ways of the past 18 months.

The just descripted behavior is not something students intend.  Their behavior is the result of what happened to them during the Pandemic.   While we can try to ascribe it to a myriad of disorders that require medication, specialized classes or punishment, we would be making a huge mistake in most instances. 

The idea of punishing those who are experiencing trauma’s symptoms is unwise.  For starters, the punishment will not work.  Second, trauma truncated connection and punishing a student by sending his/her out of class is not the needed approach.  We want to encourage connection, not disconnection; we want to find ways to help students process what is happening to them and enable them to name what is occurring so they can tame it.

The problem: we have not trained enough of our educators (and parents/caregivers) on how to understand and then deal with the behavior they are seeing in children/adults.   And, too many of our school police officers are not trained for the most part to deal with student dysregulation rooted in trauma that cannot be remediated by threats of or actual punishment. 

Who Can Help Our Students?

There are many individuals who can help students but to optimize that help and enable it to prevent recurrences and enable forward movement, we need to pay attention to who has training on trauma.  And, in the absence of such training, who is in the best position to lower stress levels, deescalate disputes and encourage connection and dispute resolution.

Individuals in uniforms and carrying weapons of some sort are not the ideal intervenors in the context of trauma.  The uniform and weapons themselves can trigger trauma in some students, particularly those of color.  Individuals who primary job is to keep order and physical safety have different approaches to problem solving; they do not focus on the psychological interventions that do NOT involve detention or punishment or stern speech.  Yet, the latter are quality methods for problem solving situations generated by trauma. 

Now, to be sure not all school police officers are wearing uniforms and some may be ideal at differentiating between students acting out because they are “intending bad” and students who are acting out because of trauma and are exhibiting unintentional behavior.   But, were I a betting person, we would do better in our schools if we used trained trauma intervenors come Fall 2021.

Think about this term: trained trauma intervenors. It is labeling a skillset not a job.  So, there are many within a school community who, if trained and allowed, could perform this function: teachers, school nurses, school counselors, coaches and yes, even some school police officers. 

But the key to being a “trained trauma intervenor” is that they need to be present full time, walking the halls, visiting lunchrooms, sitting in student areas, getting known as a resource.  These individuals need to message, through their language, clothing and demeanor that they are approachable and open and non-judgmental. And, when they do see things in the hallways, they need to be calm presences, working hard to unravel what is happening rather than working to “break up a fight.” 

The intervenors need this mindset: we are here to help; we are here to hear; we are here to provide ways to process what is happening to so many in this Pandemic era. We are not rule enforcers; we are students advocates to enable progress forward.

The intervenors need tools to diffuse anger; they need tools to help students understand what is happening; they need a quiet place to meet with students where they can work to help them reregulate. They need to be literally omnipresent.  Students need to feel they can find them easily and come to them. They need to be accessible via email and text and in person.  They are, in a sense, the hands-on people institutions need to help everyone become more stable. They are on duty 24/7.

This isn’t and hasn’t been the role of school police officers. Sure, with training and a changed perspective, some of them could do this work extremely well. 

How to Make this Happen

The first step in developing a cadre of trained trauma intervenors is to recognize the need for them in educational institutions. In some cases, that might be a heavy lift. This is not the same as creating a trauma responsive or trauma sensitive soon, which is an even heavier life.   Instead, this is creating an intervention that recognizes current needs of students and others within the school community.

The next step is to provide the funding for and training of these individuals.  And this is when reducing the school police force (not eliminating it) could be a source of funding, among other sources.  

The next step is to recognize the need for these intervenors NOW and the likelihood of their being needed over time.  This is not going to be a short-term set of issues, particularly with the new uncertainties of the Delta variant and possible future variants.  This is not a one day or first week of school effort; this is a recognition that we need individuals to help the many constituencies within an educational institution for an extended period.

One reason to reflect upon for this continued need is that trauma never goes away, although it certainly can be ameliorated.  But, what is key is that it can easily be retriggered. Trauma anniversaries are an obvious trigger and we are not yet prepared to deal with the level of grief that will exist in our schools.   But, some triggers are person-specific and cannot be anticipated.  I know this from personal experience. 

Consider these examples: A current sexual assault story involving a celebrity can bring back one’s own experience with sexual assault. (The Kavanaugh hearings and the testimony of Dr. Blasey Ford did this for me.)  But, there can be triggers that are vastly less obvious.  Seeing a child sorely in need to affection and touch from a caring adult can trigger the isolation one felt over the course of the pandemic (or perhaps in one’s own childhood). (I have experienced and written about this too.) 

The next step is to see trained trauma intervenors not as threats to school police officers; they will not be dealing with the same issues although there could be some intersectionality.  But, there needs to be trust between these two groups, recognizing the values and boundaries of each.  Both groups are professionals but they are trained differently, with expertise that each can deploy in different settings.  

We also need to own that we are living in unprecedented times and that calls for some out-of-the-box action (not just thinking but action).  We need to take steps to take ownership of what is happening in our world and help, through concrete actions, to move the proverbial needle. 

Our students of all ages and stages need their educational institutions to be safe places where they can learn or relearn the skills to engage with others, work with others, understand rules and exhibit kindness and support for those who are struggling. That’s our job as educators, and trained trauma intervenors can be remarkable facilitators of this effort.

We send disaster relief teams to disaster sites. Now we can send trained trauma intervenors to schools. Let’s do more than write and talk about it. Let’s do it. Now. Time is a wasting.