School lockdowns inflict trauma on kids

The Washington Post covers today what is the new normal of schools: frequent lockdown drills.

“The lockdowns,” as MaKenzie calls them, have changed her, because the little girl with long braids and chocolate-brown eyes remembers what it was like before them, when she always felt safe at her Anacostia school, and she knows what it’s been like afterward, when that feeling disappeared.

The Post reports that we know more children have experienced lockdowns than the combined populations of Maine, Rhode Island, Delaware, and Vermont combined, however "the total figure is likely much higher because many school districts — including in Detroit and Chicago — do not track them and hundreds never make the news, particularly when they happen at urban schools attended primarily by children of color."

And the impact?

“This is a clear and pressing public health issue,” said Steven Schlozman, a child psychiatrist and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, after learning of The Post’s findings, which he called “staggering.”
“We have very good data that children in proximity to frightening circumstances, such as those that trigger school lockdowns, are at risk for lasting symptoms. These include everything from worsening academic and social progression to depression, anxiety, poor sleep, post-traumatic symptomatology and substance abuse,” he continued. “Given the potential scope of the problem, we are in dire need of more information. How do we protect children from these issues?”

Click over and let the map of a single day in February run. And think of what we're doing to kids, every single day.