“If you put an armed guard into a school, there’s at best a possibility of preventing a shooting there, says Dewey Cornell, a professor of education and a clinical psychologist at the University of Virginia. But, he says, ‘put a counselor or psychologist in a school, and you have the potential to prevent shootings in any building anywhere in the community.’
“The average student-to-counselor ratio in the United States is nearly 500 to one. According to the American School Counselor Association, it should be closer to 250 to one. Mr. Cornell and his colleagues say that schools also need far more psychologists and social workers than they currently have. Hiring more of these professionals is the key to helping students who are on a path to violence before they bring a gun to school.” – New York Times Editorial Board in Schools Can Keep Kids Safe Without Giving Their Teachers Guns [via nytimes.com]