Charlotte girls don’t feel safe at school. What’s CMS doing about worries in new study?

Female Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students harbor fears about two realities of modern-day public education, according to a women and girls study at the University of North Carolina Charlotte.

Those fears center around shootings and issues on school buses.

The study also says female students want greater access to mental health services in schools.

“It’s important for us to have a focus on women and girls,” Michelle Meggs, the executive director of the Women + Girls Research Alliance, told the Charlotte Observer. “The Charlotte region talks a lot about gender equity. Their voices aren’t elevated as much as they should be. We talk a lot about it, but we don’t do a lot.”

The Women + Girls Research Alliance is a research organization based at UNC Charlotte. The alliance’s latest findings, released June 19 after more than 150 women and girls from around Charlotte and CMS participated in discussions in October, found many of the same issues impacted adults and students.

About 30 of the district’s teen girls took part. They focused on safety issues that included the effects of cyberbullying, bullying on buses and students in abusive situations having access to a trusted adult.

Girls, specifically, need to feel safer at school, according to the study. Participants were unanimous in their desire to develop safe spaces and networks where women and girls can receive social support.

“These spaces allow women and girls to build confidence, express vulnerability, develop relationships, and create opportunities for mentoring,” the study states. “These safe spaces can help to close the generation gap between women and girls and can increase access to needed information and resources.”

Solutions offered

The survey results offered an array of solutions to problems raised by students, including:

▪ gathering feedback from student leaders to identify school-specific solutions

▪ increasing exposure to diverse, living-wage career paths

▪ increasing financial literacy education

▪ increasing health literacy education.

CMS students, Meggs says, also offered solutions such as investing in training that supports student safety — including active shooter drills.

There have been 386 school shootings in the U.S. since the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado, according to a database maintained by The Washington Post. Of those, 46 occurred in 2022 — the highest number of any year on record.

CMS told the Observer schools hold active shooter survival training for teachers and staff throughout the year. Each school has emergency and safety plans in place, and students go through two lockdown drills annually.

The district installed scanners in middle and high schools to detect weapons, but reporting by The Charlotte Observer revealed problems with the devices sounding alarms on three-ring binders and other personal items. And a confidential field test conducted on the Evolv scanners revealed they aren’t foolproof.

“Girls still don’t feel heard, seen and taken seriously,” Meggs said. “The community needs to also get involved so girls know we’re investing in them and their future.”

Meggs says women and girls can support each other by creating networks and safe spaces where women can receive social support and developing cross-generational mentorship opportunities.

“Practice empathy, self-belief and kindness towards others,” she said.

CMS bus safety

Susan Vernon-Devlin, executive director of communications for CMS, told the Observer bus drivers this summer will receive training on how to handle emergency situations and behavior incidents. Those actions were planned prior to the survey’s release.

“As always, we encourage students to speak with their driver if there is a safety concern or problem,” Vernon-Devlin said.

A 2019 report from the National Center for Educational Statistics found school buses were among places where students reported being bullied. Though, places such as the hallway or stairwell, inside the classroom and in the cafeteria ranked significantly higher.

CMS has a list of rules students must follow, too, according to the transportation page on the district’s website. Those include bringing good classroom conduct onto school buses, refraining from using profane language or gestures and no acts of vandalism, throwing objects from the windows of the bus or conduct or behavior that interferes with safe and expeditious transportation, among others.

Violations will result in out-of-school suspension and permanent removal of transportation privileges, according to CMS. Video cameras have been installed on some buses, as well.

Other issues identified

Participants — both adults and students — identified several issues along with safety, including economic security, and health and well-being. Many Charlotte-area women and girls feel a lack of social support and equity and inclusion.

Participants said financial stability increases access to resources needed to maintain health and safety. A lack of financial stability increases stress and can “force (women and girls) to stay in unsafe conditions,” according to the study.

At safety tables, participants said racial bias “is a source of stress and poor mental health for women of color,” according to the study.

“One of the things that remains with me is one of the students shared that it was the first time she felt heard and seen,” Meggs said. “She felt like her ideas and suggestions were taken seriously. People really listened, and she felt she was in a safe space.”

Meggs says officials will use the findings will steer the Womens + Girls Research Alliance to drive grants, advocacy and groups it will work with in the community.