On Wednesday, January 5, 2011, a student at Millard South High School entered his school armed with a gun. The boy had been suspended from school early that morning. He signed in the office and went to the assistant principal's office. Within 4 minutes, office staff reported hearing gunshots. The student had shot the vice principal and the principal as they tried to intervene. He continued shooting, aiming at the school custodian and then at a security officer as he fled the premises. The school resource officer, hearing the shots, responded, but the student was gone. Police found his car in a nearby parking lot. He had taken his own life (Lincoln Journal Star.com, 2011). The above incident has had a profound impact on the students, staff and community members of the school district. It created a sense of insecurity in a school community that had always felt relatively safe. Yet, as shocking as it was, many school districts across the nation are facing similar tragedies. Over the past 15 years, acts of violence in schools have become more extreme and often deadly. As violence continues to become more unprecedented, school district administrators and staff carry a high responsibility for providing a safe learning environment in schools for all students and staff. Standard 3 of the Standards on Educational Leadership Policy states: “An educational leader promotes the success of every student by ensuring management of organization, operation, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment” (2002). While most schools remain relatively safe, districts and communities find any level of violence unacceptable. The Centers for Disease...... half of paper ......ety 2011. 43, 486. doi: 10.1177/0013124510380717Lincoln Journal Star. (2011). Millard South shooting timeline. Lincoln Journal Star.com. Retrieved from http://journalstar.com/news/state-and regional/nebraska/article_ef16c15d-c67e-54b5-b4fa-0742edc6085d.htmlNational Policy Board for Educational Administration. (2002) Standards for advanced educational leadership programs. Retrieved from http://npbea.org/ELCC/ELCCStandards%20_5-02.pdfNational Center for Educational Statistics U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics. (2010). School Crime and Safety Indicators: 2010 (NCES 2011-002), retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/crimeindicators/crimeindicators2010/National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. (2009). School Crime and Safety Indicators: 2009 Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/