Solutionaries: ‘It’s everybody’s responsibility.’ Why security experts, educators say safer schools means going beyond the classroom

Following the devastating murders at Robb Elementary in Uvalde in May, the debate over school safety has reignited talks on everything from bulletproof shields to more funding for mental health services. “It’s everybody’s responsibility,” said Mike Matranga, the founder of M6 Global, which specializes in security for K-12 campuses. “It doesn’t matter if it’s at school or if it’s in your community, you need to learn the signs and symptoms of pre-attack behavior.” Matranga has protected presidents as a secret service agent and our children as the former head of security for Texas City ISD. He says the district’s security plan is touted as the best in Texas and in the top five in the United States. When Matranga took over security for Texas City ISD, he ensured every employee received training in how to spot potentially troubling behaviors and established law enforcement emergency response protocols. While a staunch proponent of officers on campus and a strict adherence to security protocols by all staff members, he says the physical protection of a campus is only half the battle.

“Having one threat assessment team for a district is not enough, having a campus threat assessment team on every campus is not enough. We have to go deeper than that, we have to have a community resource or a resource within the district that’s going to help treat the cause (of violence),” said Matranga. The Texas House committee investigating the response to the Uvalde massacre found that there had been red flags surrounding the shooter years in advance. The shooter had been involuntarily withdrawn from high school after racking up more than 100 absences. Teachers, students and family members also described home life problems, bullying, and later claims of animal cruelty. “Many times after every one of these shootings, it’s always said, ‘well, yeah, I knew that kid had some issues,’” said Matranga. “And there’s no one that reported that behavior, just like in Uvalde.” The committee’s report notes there are no excuses for the violence committed on school campuses, but Matranga and other organizations believe there is a more holistic option while still improving physical security. “I’ve said this time and time again, we build $100 million stadiums for high schools, yet we can’t find $100,000 or $200,000 annually to support a social, emotional learning or emotional intelligence program for our staff, our students and our parents,” said Matranga. An organization called Communities in Schools (CIS) works to accomplish that goal by bringing an entire community of support into a school to help at-risk children. The program has touched the lives of many students at Holub Middle School in Alief ISD.