74 people have been killed or injured by guns at American schools this year

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• Another category that Peterson says has seen a surge in frequency are threats of violence made, online or in person, which can be difficult for schools to track and manage.

• "I used to say mass shootings are rare, school shootings are rare," Peterson said. "But it's hard to keep saying that, you know, even though statistically they are, it's getting harder to convince parents of that."

• demonstrates how community violence is bleeding into schools. "That includes things motivated by interpersonal conflicts, domestic violence, retaliation, all of those things, fights that escalate because people are armed," she said.

• says that community engagement can be vital in managing those threats, and preventing more tragedies. "One thing we do know is that the most likely perpetrator of a school shooting is a child in that school. It is a classmate," she said. "It's somebody that is getting seen every day. And so they are likely to tell their classmates that they're planning on it. They give out warning signs."

• And in many cases, they follow the same steps, including telling others about their plans, a term called "leakage."

• "The best thing we can do is actually just have really good relationships with our kids, making sure that they feel comfortable reporting," she said.

• She also says schools need to take steps to have crisis intervention teams, suicide prevention teams, school based mental health, and anonymous reporting systems to give at-risk students resources, in addition to campaigning for improved gun safety among parents that are firearms owners.

• "I think pushing for safe storage campaigns [is key] because the majority of school shooters are taking guns from home. So the more we can help parents who own firearms make sure those are secured, that's helpful," she added.