FORTIFYING BUILDINGS vs. FORTIFYING KIDS
Disclaimer: I am sending this to my entire list. This article is not about guns. It is about the value proposition of music, and how our school investment says as much about our priorities as it does about our fears.
In 1999, tragedy struck Columbine High School, a suburban community outside Denver, when two students armed with automatic weapons opened fire, killing 13 of their classmates. It was a moment that changed not only our profession, but our entire nation—forever altering how we view safety in our schools.
On the first anniversary, I was an assistant principal when my school received a bomb threat. We evacuated to the students to the football stadium, and along with our local police, completed a building-by-building sweep in search of the explosive device. I was in the boys' locker room when 12:00 pm struck (the supposed detonation time), and I remember thinking, "I can't believe I am here, doing this right now."
It was a hoax. But these hoaxes have become all to real.
In the years since, the United States has endured more than 400 school shootings, with 11 such events having occurred in the past eight months—the most recent events taking place in Evergreen, Colorado, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. (I am choosing to view the event in Orem, Utah, as a politically motivated attack and not a school shooting.)
The FBI’s report, School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective, found that the typical attacker is a young white male, enrolled or connected to the school, that has experienced bullying, isolated, struggling socially, and is likely showing signs of depression or anger.
Do you know what else they have in common that WASN'T in the report?
None of the shooters were a part of their high school music program.
How did the FBI miss that little nugget?
Remember what the report said – "experienced bullying, isolated, struggling socially, and is likely showing signs of depression or anger." Could tragedies like these possibly be averted by enrolling kids in inclusive, welcoming, supportive, and non-judgemental places?
“Instead of working toward real solutions, we’ve settled for resolutions. As a society, we keep asking, ‘What should we do during an active shooter situation?’when the better question is, ‘How do we keep these situations from happening in the first place?’”
As a result of events such as these, a new industry has grown at a staggering pace: the business of school safety. According to market research firm Omdia, the "school security industry" is now worth as much as $4 billion and continues to grow yearly.
FOUR BILLION DOLLARS!
What does that money buy? Surveillance cameras, drones, advanced threat-detection systems, bullet-resistant doors, wound packing kits, bullet-proof glass, and training on how to thwart and survive such an attack.
But, I think it should buy more.
It should be buying sousaphones, cellos, choir risers, drama sets, and dance bars? I'm not kidding. These items aren't reactive - they're proactive, would be used every day - and might also help save lives.
How can I say that?
Because music IS violence prevention. PERIOD. FULL STOP.
And while we're at it, music is also a program for:
Drug/alcohol/substance abuse prevention
Suicide/self-harm prevention
Vaping prevention
Attendance enhancement
Academic achievement
Dropout prevention
Bullying reduction
Parent involvement
School culture/tone setter
Scholarship generation
Inclusivity and diversity
College readiness
and so much more...
In fact, music helps mitigate just about everything wrong with our schools and enhances everything right.
In short: music doesn't just make kids better—it makes them safer.
Band, choir, and orchestra (and other inclusive collaborative activities) are often treated as "extras" and remain unfunded or underfunded in most school budgets. Ask any music teacher, and they will tell you: their classroom is one of the safest spaces on campus, not because of locks or cameras, but because of culture.
Students in music programs are seen, valued, and connected to their peers and the broader community. They belong to something larger than themselves. Beyond that, they are exposed to a caring group of peers and adults who will stay with them for four continuous years.
This sense of belonging is not trivial. Research consistently shows that students involved in music are less likely to feel isolated and more likely to develop strong social networks. Those networks, in turn, provide the kind of peer support that can prevent minor problems from becoming crises.
Imagine if we invested in music with the same urgency as we invested in security hardware. What if, alongside bulletproof doors and wound packing kits, we funded new instruments, improved rehearsal spaces, and more opportunities for kids to participate in ensembles? The return on that investment wouldn't just be measured in concerts performed, but in lives shaped and crises averted.
As I said, music is violence prevention.
This does not dismiss the need for safety measures—schools must be secure, but we cannot stop the conversation at hardware. Proper prevention is about building communities where students feel they belong, are supported, and can grow. Few places achieve that better than the music rehearsal room.
I have a son in high school, and he must be safe. To that end, his school just spent tens of thousands of dollars wrapping the campus in dark green and gold mesh fence wrap. Most will think it is for school spirit, but I know better. It's so that a potential shooter can't see inside the courtyard.
The problem is, 9 out of 10 school shooters are enrolled students who belong inside the school.
So my question is - did the fence wrap make anyone safer?
Perhaps (I kindly offer this as a suggestion for your consideration), in addition to investing in protecting students from the outside, we also invest in preventing violence from the inside – let's not make schools more challenging to break into, let's make them harder to fall out of or getting lost in. We do this by investing in the people, programs, and communities that keep kids connected.
Programs like music.
Yes, we need to fortify our buildings, but more importantly, we need to fortify our students.
And that's what music does.
Share this with someone who might be interested - parents, colleagues, administrators, or district personnel.
Have a great week!
Scott
P.S. The most recent episode of the Band Dads Podcast talks about this very issue. Click below if you would like to listen.
P.P.S. I’ve written, read, and rewritten this post more than five times to make sure it comes across with the respect I intend. I truly hope it reads that way to you.
* The individual who shot Congresswoman Gabby Giffords did play saxophone in high school, but former classmates noted that his behavior changed dramatically after he began using drugs following graduation. He was 23 at the time, and this was not a school shooting, but a politically motivated attack.