School safety expert urges parent involvement after deadly Oregon school shooting

LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — The deadly shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, is raising concerns about school safety and what parents and communities can do to help protect students.

The Oct. 15 attack left three children and a teacher dead. A 16-year-old suspect also died after an armed community member intervened.

As families search for answers, school safety expert James "Mo" Canady says parent involvement, emergency preparedness and cooperation between schools and local law enforcement are important parts of preventing future tragedies.

For parents, sending their children to school means trusting they will be safe. After a deadly shooting, that sense of security can be shaken.

“It is very scary,” Canady said.

Canady, who spent 12 years as a school resource officer during his law enforcement career, encourages parents to stay involved in their school communities and communicate with school leaders.

“And so I think that, you know, for parents, first of all, be engaged in what's going on with your school community. Attend school board meetings as you can,” he said.

Canady also emphasized the importance of preparing students for emergencies, while ensuring safety drills are conducted in ways that do not cause unnecessary fear or trauma.

“How we conduct drills with students in the building is really, really important. The last thing we want to do is traumatize students, but we also need to teach them the basics of, of, you know, almost a muscle memory type thing,” he said.

School safety involves more than emergency drills or having an armed officer on campus, Canady said. Other measures include secure entrances, crisis response plans, trained school resource officers and strong partnerships between schools and local law enforcement.

Having a trained school resource officer can be one layer of protection, but it does not eliminate every risk, he said.

“Having a professionally trained SRO on that campus, it doesn't make everything perfect. It doesn't, we're not saying, hey, this is a completely safe place, but safety is a moving target at times,” Canady said.

Canady said no single measure can guarantee a school's safety. Instead, he emphasized that prevention requires ongoing cooperation among parents, educators, law enforcement and the broader community.

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