WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Forty percent of America's teachers think their
school does not have adequate security to keep potential shooters out.
The same percentage think their school is not well prepared to protect
students and staff if an armed shooter gets inside. About three in 10
(29%) doubt their school's ability to do either.
Few Teachers Feel Very Protected From a Shooter Entering Their School
Very protected
Somewhat protected
Not too protected
Not protected at all
%
%
%
%
Thinking about your school building(s) and the security measures that are
in place, how well is your school protected from shooters entering the school?
9
51
28
12
GALLUP PANEL, MARCH 5-12, 2018
Few Teachers Feel Their School Would Be Very Prepared if an Armed Shooter
Were to Gain Access
Very prepared
Somewhat prepared
Not too prepared
Not prepared at all
%
%
%
%
If an armed shooter were able to enter your school, how prepared do you
think your school would be to protect students and staff inside the building?
14
46
29
11
GALLUP PANEL, MARCH 5-12, 2018
These findings come from a nationwide survey of 497 teachers in U.S. elementary,
middle and high schools conducted March 5-12, less than a month after
a Florida high school shooting that killed 14 students and three staff
members. In the wake of the shooting and the demonstrations that followed,
Americans' support for stricter controls on gun sales has climbed to its highest level since 1993.
Though 60% of teachers say their school is protected from shooters being
able to enter, only 9% say it is "very protected," with the
other 51% describing it as "somewhat protected." Similarly,
14% say their school is "very prepared" to protect students
and staff if a shooter gets inside, with 46% saying it is "somewhat
prepared."
Elementary and middle school teachers are more likely to think their schools
are very prepared if a shooter gets in the building (21%) than are high
school teachers (6%).
Possibility of Shooting Not a Major Worry or Major Topic of Conversation
The possibility of a school shooting does not appear to be creating intense
concern among U.S. teachers or their students. The percentage of teachers
who are very worried is in single digits (9%), with another 27% somewhat
worried. About the same percentage of teachers (8%) say their students
are very worried; 37% say their students are somewhat worried.
Most Teachers Express Little Worry That They Will Be a School Shooting Victim
How worried are you about being the victim of a school shooting? How worried
are your students?
Very worried
Somewhat worried
Not too worried
Not worried at all
%
%
%
%
Teachers themselves
9
27
44
20
Teachers' students
8
37
45
10
GALLUP PANEL, MARCH 5-12, 2018
Perceptions of how well the school is protected do not appear to be linked
to teachers' worry. Even among teachers who think their school is
not well protected from keeping a shooter out of the building, most (61%)
say they are not too worried or not worried at all. The same is true for
teachers who think their school is not well prepared to protect them or
students if a shooter gains entry -- 60% do not worry much about being
a shooting victim.
Elementary and middle school teachers are more likely to be worried about
being shot (46%) than are high school teachers (24%). In contrast, high
school teachers are slightly more likely than elementary and middle school
teachers to report that their students are worried, though the difference
is not statistically significant.
Teachers report that school shootings are not a common topic of discussion
among students or their fellow teachers in their school. While one out
of five say teachers talk about shootings a great deal or a lot, the majority
-- 57% -- say their fellow teachers talk about the possibility of a shooting
at their school a little (44%) or not at all (13%). Sixty-four percent
say their students talk about it a little (46%) or not at all (18%).
Teachers Not Hearing a Lot of Talk About School Shootings
How much do the teachers with whom you work/do your students talk about
the possibility of a shooting occurring at your school?
A great deal/A lot
Moderate amount
A little/None at all
%
%
%
Teachers themselves
20
22
57
Teachers' students
9
26
64
GALLUP PANEL, MARCH 5-12, 2018
There is a clear difference by age in the amount students are talking:
45% of high school teachers say their students are talking about it at
least a moderate amount, compared with 28% of elementary and middle school teachers.
Bottom Line
The school shooting at Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14 revived memories of
previous mass killings at schools in the United States and sparked a nationwide
grassroots push for measures to prevent such tragedies in the future.
Fierce political battles in Congress and the Florida legislature have
produced legislation that includes some actions aimed specifically at
strengthening schools' defenses against shooting attacks.
Measures that truly make schools safer will be welcomed by the nation's
teachers, who are in the line of fire when such attacks occur. As it stands
now, many do not feel their schools have enough security to keep shooters
out or have adequate protections if the shooters get in.
In spite of their lack of confidence, however, it appears that the latest
tragedy has not thrown most schools off track, as most teachers report
that neither they nor their students are overly worried about the threat
of an attack at their school.
Survey Methods
Results for this Gallup poll are based on interviews conducted via a web
survey March 5-12, 2018, with 497 U.S. teachers who teach grades kindergarten
through high school. The teachers are members of Gallup's probability-based
national panel. For results based on the total sample, the margin of sampling
error is ±7 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All
reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for
weighting.
