It's nothing like when I was a kid in school. And that means awareness of the kids' family structure, drug and alcohol problems, making sure someone takes responsibility to know if a child is happy or sad.
Schools are so big now, kids pass through and nobody knows they're there.
Metal detectors are uncommon in metro Atlanta, but they are credited with sharply reducing violence in New York City. And the camera will never be invented that can peer into a young person's mind. Witness the shooting at Fulton County's Bear Creek Middle School in 1994. The locked-down mentality has even reached elementary schools. The key is to connect with students, raise awareness through speakers, plays, candlelight vigils that there is violence out there and it can happen in their school.