Ms. Miller’s fall ’25 Journalism class

A report of the recent school shooting in Colorado made its way to Kingston, Pennsylvania, and hit close to home. Even though it was 1,600 miles away, student talk began almost immediately. Conversations started about safety at SEM–the community inquiring about lockdowns, and posing questions we’d rather not have to consider. 

Private schools like Wyoming Seminary are statistically less vulnerable to gun violence than public schools. Between 2000 and 2018, researchers monitored 134 school shootings on or close to K–12 campuses with students in session. There were 122 in public schools yet just eight in private, about 6% to 94%. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NSEC) tells the same story: nearly 20% of public school students identify gang activity at their schools, compared to just 2%. Violent behavior like assaults and fighting also occurs less than half the time than it does in private schools. This fact mainly owes itself to class size, adult supervision, and school climates that foster respect and responsibility. 

Fewer threats, though, does not mean threatless. Sem’s security is systematic: doors that require key cards, personnel patrolling the corridors, and regular emergency drills that involve local authorities. Lockdowns and evacuations take place all year round — not because of news headlines, but to make preparation second nature. The head of school at Wyoming Seminary, Martin Mooney, explains how “we have one or two shelters in place drills, evacuation drills, and fire drills each term.” Campus police officers and CCTVs are involved as well: guards patrol the school throughout the day, watching gates, checking IDs when it’s appropriate, and providing first-response care in an emergency. These things don’t turn the campus into a fortress, but they turn the campus into a place where students can learn without large lingering fear. For most students, these changes do not restrict freedom, but enable it.

Students pay attention. “You feel safer knowing someone is patrolling the halls or doors are locked,” Billy Hall ‘26 said. The Colorado disaster also altered ordinary routines in little ways. Friends called each other more often. Conversations strayed from plans for Friday night to safety and mental health. Students inquired the administration about locking up classrooms or simply promised to look out for each other. 

Sem’s role now is to balance: keep the doors open, but stay alert. The statistics show that the private schools are safer, but alertness is still the best defense. Staying alert is not drills and locks—it is people keeping an eye on each other and looking out for one another. And at Sem, those little, ordinary steps can be the greatest defense.