ASHLAND, Ore. — A non-profit organization called ‘The Safe Zone Solution’ is making efforts to bring the community together to create a solution to decrease school shootings.
On May 24, 2022, Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas people nationwide witnessed the killing of nineteen children and two adults due to a school shooting.
Alex Sol is the founder of the organization. Sol said he has been studying school shootings for a while now.
“As a person that survived a public shooting after the events at Uvalde last year, I realized that we are focusing on the wrong things,” says Sol.
In his research, he comes to the conclusion to create safe zones throughout the school buildings.
“What children need are targeted solutions that are relevant to protecting them in these events,” says Sol. “Now what does that mean? The classrooms themselves have to become safe zones.”
With the petition, the organization is planning to speak with Ashland School District to restructure the entryways of their schools.
“Fortifying the exterior door and then giving them the redundancy inside their classrooms to have bulletproof doors that look exactly like the doors that they have now,” says Sol.
Samuel Bogdanove is the Superintendent of the Ashland School District. Bogdanove said there are currently safety plans for each school, along with staff participating in training for emergency response and preparation.
“The truth is that school safety is most effectively addressed through a multi-layered approach,” says Bogdanove. “And while we’ve made great strides thanks to the bond and also thanks to our local law enforcement partners, there’s always more work to do.”
The community event includes a screening on school vulnerabilities and an interview with one of the survivors of the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary on December 14, 2012. Along with, active shooter education and a concealed handgun instructor.
“I just want to the pressure, the stress, the mental health stress off of children, teachers, and parents and say we have done the very best we can to keep our children safe,” says Sol.
The Ashland School District is involved in continuous safety improvements. “They’re all our kids, they’re all our teachers, and they’re all our staff … it has to be number one,” says Bogdanove.
The event begins at 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Ashland Springs Hotel.
Mariah Hill is a news producer/reporter at NewsWatch 12. You can reach Mariah at [email protected].
