When a student in Saint Louis Public Schools is injured or killed by gun violence, it sets off a chain of events that can last for years. A crisis team is deployed to help the student’s family cope. Counselors come into the schools so siblings and friends can deal with their grief. The district’s superintendent, Dr. Kelvin Adams, and his team follow up with more support and counseling through the semester, likely into the next school year. So far in 2022, seven children under the age of 18 have been shot and killed in the St. Louis metropolitan area, and 27 more have been wounded. At one school, five children are now using wheelchairs after being shot. Lately, Adams says, it’s starting to feel like a never-ending story, one he feels compelled to address.
In 2020, guns overtook car accidents as the leading cause of child deaths. But as a nationwide conversation on gun safety focuses on mass shootings after the tragic events in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, SLPS is focusing on the gun deaths that are largely preventable: those caused by weapons that weren’t safely locked away at home. SLPS, along with the city’s board of mental health and Confluence Academies, launched Educators for Gun Safety. They’re planning to roll out a curriculum this fall that will teach kids what to do if they find a gun.
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Adams thinks that the COVID-19 pandemic and virtual learning played a role in the increase in gun injuries and deaths. “While we engaged students in instructional programs through Zoom and Microsoft Teams virtually, it didn’t stop kids from having unsupported time at home, where weapons were,” Adams says. “We have a lot of time with kids from 8 a.m. until 3:15 p.m. every single day,” Adams says. “If we can squeeze in some opportunities to talk about gun safety or safety overall, it goes a long way.”
The program is also geared toward adults. At three separate events, Educators for Gun Safety handed out about 200 gunlocks. Dr. Candice Carter-Oliver, CEO of Confluence Academies, whose Aspire Academy hosted one of the events, says a common response was that people were willing to use the locks, but they didn’t have easy access to them.
“There has to be accountability from the adults,” she says, noting that Educators for Gun Safety also provides parents with guidance. Part of the learning process is helping the parents feel comfortable enough to ask the right questions. Some children were injured or killed in the homes of caregivers or during playdates, for instance, when parents weren’t aware that there was a firearm in the house. “I’m a mother, and I always say that we have to ask others questions, such as, ‘Is there a firearm in your home? Is your firearm stored and locked?’” Carter-Oliver says.
Educators for Gun Safety anticipates some additional professional development for teachers so that they can have meaningful conversations about gun safety. For these educators, many of whom have had to adopt the roles of Zoom whizzes and mask enforcers in recent years, it might mean adding yet another responsibility—but, Adams says, it’s worth it.
“They realize you can’t teach a kid who’s not there,” Adams says. “Many of them have lost friends and relatives to guns.”
