Shifting from educational model to a virtual crisis control one in our schools is apparent

She said it would need to happen in years to come.
We get the impression it needs to happen immediately.
Our newspaper recently published an op-ed wherein the author argued our public schools need to change models.
That is, shifting from an educational model to a medical/behavioral/tactical one, as well.
You could call it a sign of the times because the ills of society are increasingly being dumped onto the shoulders of our public schools.
Though some of the outrage during the recent teachers’ work stoppage was in response to this, none of that changed as a result of the strike.
The medical ills of society have come to training teachers how to stem bleeding from a gunshot wound and administering opioid reversal medication.
Behavioral disorders today could be pre-schoolers coping with serious cognitive impairments, who were born addicted to opioids.
Or high-schoolers displaying significant behavior and attention issues as a result of that teenager’s medication being too expensive to buy.
Tactical skills that are seemingly related to military objectives — securing a facility from attack — are seriously under consideration for teachers. Those skills include arming teachers and training them to use firearms in close quarters where they could face gunfire.
And to think, we were once concerned with graduation and attendance rates, test scores and dress codes.
Of course, we are still concerned with those barometers of how our public schools are doing.
But it’s undeniable that our schools, rather than islands or havens for children and adolescents, are now just as much a part of the sea changes throughout society.
Unfortunately, in too many respects that change reflects the more dread issues confronting society.
Our newspaper’s Editorial Board recently interviewed all six Monongalia County Board of Education (BOE) candidates. A session with the five Preston County BOE candidates is also on our schedule for next week.
We suspect all these candidates can relate to today’s “whole” student at some level or another.
That’s clearly the most important role school boards serve when they establish policies affecting students.
But we would impress on all these candidates and our readers that teachers and service personnel are on the front lines of public education.
Ensuring they have appropriate training and resources and are adequately compensated is also a priority.
Denial and ignorance of or turning a deaf ear and blind eye to the issues in our schools are no longer options.
One of America’s most famous statesman once said, “There cannot be a crisis today; my schedule is already full.”
Sorry, but it’s time we juggled our schedules and did our homework on the crisis in public education.