I’m on the school board for our community. I’ve just been assigned to a committee to look into school safety. At first I thought this meant stranger danger, bomb threats, and gun control. But now I realize accidents and injuries are part of the whole package. What sorts of things should I be thinking about along these lines?

School injuries are indeed a major public health concern. Every year 3.7 million children in the United States are injured at school. Some of these accidents and injuries occur on the playground. Others are sports-related injuries on the field.

One other source of injuries to consider is shop class or industrial arts. This can also include automotive class. At least one study reports 7.1 percent of all school injuries occurred in shop class. Most of these classes are offered at the high school level. Some schools also teach some form of industrial arts in the middle school.

Safety instruction is the key to injury prevention. Not just instruction but students must consistently follow the safety rules. As a school board member you may want to review all safety precautions. School administrators can follow-up with surprise visits and safety inspections.

There are some experts who advise against having power tools available even at the high school level. You may want to review your policy on this. For example, the equipment is built for the average adult male, not a small freshman (male or female). If you keep shop class in the curriculum, you may want to extend your school budget to purchase some size-appropriate equipment.