Students keep seeing the same story play out again and again. A school shooting causes panicked students and teachers into lockdown mode or fleeing the building with hands up.
School shootings have become the norm in the United States and unfortunately, twice in less than two years in Nashville–the Covenent School shooting in March 2023 and the Antioch school shooting in January 2025. These shootings beg the questions: How safe is West Creek High School? Can you really be prepared for this?
Principal Dr. Will Ferrell described the safety precautions that the school has implemented.
“We have a staff safety team,” he said. “This year our school resource officers (SRO’s) started a student safety team. We do drills and try to be as prepared as possible for any situation. Our SRO’s also check exterior doors throughout the day to ensure they are locked, we ask teachers to keep classroom doors locked, we ask adults to be visible at class changes so if something is going on, it can be reported and responded to quickly. We also recently added the ballistic film to exterior doors and windows to make it tougher to enter by breaking the glass.”
Last year, the school district piloted weapon detection systems at Northwest High and Rossview High. These are different from traditional metal detectors. Evolv units use enhanced detectors and artificial intelligence to detect weapons, even ones that are hidden. They are costly, at $200,000 for one dual-lane unit.
Traditional metal detectors are cheaper, yet they have their drawbacks. Dr. Ferrell explained the challenges of using them.
“I think metal detectors can be helpful in deterring students bringing things to school that they shouldn’t,” he said.”One of the challenges of metal detectors is having enough of them and also having enough staff to work them to get 1,550 students into the building in a timely manner. If you aren’t moving students quickly, you can create large groups of students waiting to get in which puts them at risk of someone looking to do harm. I do think they can help, but the logistics and cost make it difficult.”
Junior Graceson Murphy believes metal detectors are a good option.
“I think metal detectors would be more secure,” she said.”If you have a security precaution like that daily, then it would reassure me to know there’s less of a possibility for someone to have a weapon.”
Part of the overall school safety program is lockdown drills. Students have probably been in a classroom where their peers do not take the drill seriously.
“In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson,” Dr. Ferrell said. “You should take all drills and safety information given to you seriously no matter where you are, school, church, movies, airplane, workplace, etc.”
In the end, Dr. Ferrell believes that, while all school violence cannot be prevented, there is a simple and free way to address the challenge.
“I think a focus on building relationships with students, students being kind to each other, if you see something, say something,” he said, “all of those things are steps that can help someone that needs it.”
