(CN) — Last year marked a new high for school shootings in America: Nearly 1 in 4 teachers went into lockdown. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, 70% of educators believe the best way to prevent future gun violence is by focusing on mental health.
Above all else, most teachers reported wanting to see schools improve mental health screening and treatment for both students and adults. Sixty-nine percent of teachers — including 66% of conservatives and 73% of liberals — said addressing mental health is an effective way of preventing school shootings. Only 5% polled said this would be ineffective.
Improving mental health treatment was the only preventative measure where the gap between Democrats and Republicans fell below 10%.
Pew published the research, based on a survey last fall of 2,531 K-12 teachers, on Thursday.
Since 1997, there have been 1,453 school shootings, including 11 mass shootings, according to research published by the American Academy of Pediatrics counting all reported incidents of guns being fired in or at schools.
The 11 school mass shootings resulted in 122 people killed and 126 injured.
Even with the rate of gun incidents on the rise, many teachers told Pew researchers they felt prepared to respond to a shooting, with about 60% reporting their school has done an “excellent” or “very good” job of preparing them for the scenario.
Urban teachers, 45%, reported feeling less prepared than rural teachers, 35%.
Equal shares of teachers, 7% each, said they were either extremely or not at all worried about a shooting at their school.
While a majority of teachers were worried about school shootings, the bulk, 72%, fell in the middle, as either “not too worried” or “somewhat” worried about firearm violence unfolding at their school.
More than half of teachers reported that they already have armed security or police officers in their school — a practice more common in rural schools, with greater support among Republicans than Democrats.
Only 3% of teachers polled said their schools allowed staff to carry guns on campus, including 5% of teachers in school districts where a majority voted for Donald Trump in 2020, and 1% of teachers in districts that supported Joe Biden.
In all, 70% of teachers said they did not think that arming teachers would be effective, while 49% supported having armed security in school. Both policies were more popular among teachers who identified as Republican over those aligned with Democrats.
While 33% of teachers think having metal detectors in schools would help prevent shootings, 26% said they did not think metal detectors would be an effective deterrent.
In a separate survey, Pew researchers asked teachers what they wished people knew about their job. Out of more than 100 responses, two teachers highlighted their role in keeping students safe.
"Please pressure politicians to make changes in our school systems to ensure the safety and well-being of our students," one middle school teacher told researchers.
An elementary school teacher said making students feel safe is part of the demanding job.
"We love our jobs, but it is emotionally and physically exhausting,” the teacher told Pew researchers. “We are making decisions every minute, planning every minute. We are showing students we care about them and that they are safe, emotionally and academically supporting them — and many times without parental support.”
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