Schools across the country are plagued by many issues. According to the National Education Association, some of these problems range from a lack of funding to chronic absenteeism. But one issue stands out as especially important yet is buried under all others: transparency regarding student culture and well being. When it comes to ongoing chronic issues like poor teen mental health, eating disorders, and drug use, administrators don’t disclose information as consistently or openly. The only chronic focus for administrators seems to be entirely on phone use. The drug epidemic and other wellness problems are often glossed over to combat the student body’s overuse and misuse of technology, and or taken out of consideration when discussing larger safety incidents.
Speaking of larger safety incidents, Missoula schools have experienced a handful of unplanned lockdowns over the last few years. A string of citywide lockdowns of public schools in Missoula happened in 2022, but that was the result of a statewide emergency derived from a single phone call referred to as a “swatting incident,” or scam. The following year, Hellgate experienced a more serious lockdown after a student made threatening social media posts. Then last year, Hellgate went into a lockdown again over a replica firearm discovered in a students’ backpack. For the latter two of these three incidents especially, there was no comment from either the school, the district, or the police regarding the students’ mental state at the time of the incident, even though mental health is a serious issue in the state of Montana and it often a key factor in driving student decision making.
Another incident that occurred more recently at Big Sky High School was an emergency incident where a student had a bad reaction after taking high concentrated marijuana on campus. This incident wasn’t reported to students, staff, or families when it happened. Big Sky Sun Journal staff reported on this issue, but high school administrators haven’t made any other public announcements about it.
The recurring theme here is lack of transparency about student wellness and mental health with all school incidents across Missoula. This lack of transparency has started to infuriate me. Transparency is key for a safer school environment, yet no solutions have been put forth. I propose a loose concept of a plan on gaining more transparency while respecting the privacy that minors in these situations need.
This concept will have the School Resource Officer and/or administration of their respective schools report on information regarding whatever emergency takes place: a lockdown, fire or other natural disaster, student well-being concern, etc. In these reports, extensive detail will be given about the situation, with the cause of the incident, the age, sex, and grade level of students involved identified, if appropriate. These reports will come out once an emergency is detected and dealt with in a timely manner, and will always consider ties to student wellness and mental health. They will also be released when a chronic issue related to student well-being and health has been identified, like increased drug use or increased cases of eating disorders. Putting out reports like these on a consistent basis and in a timely manner matters, as students, much like the rest of the public, have the right to know about situations in the unfolding moments.
Transparency is a crucial part of school safety. If schools can be more transparent about the major details of what caused a lockdown or a situation related to student well being, they can create a safer school environment for everyone. If the vagueness of extreme school situations (i.e. lockdowns and other on campus emergencies) persists, I fear that the next school tragedy will strike too close to home.
