The Center for Safer Schools is starting a new program to give parents a voice when it comes to school safety.
There’s going to be a new committee that will send recommendations on school safety to the Center for Safe Schools or CFSS.
But this time, it’ll be a group of 24 K-12 parents from around the Tar Heel state.
There’s already a task force that deals with school safety, but it’s comprised primarily of stakeholders like school board members, law enforcement, and government officials. The new Parent Engagement Committee will be comprised of three parents from eight educational regions across North Carolina.
Karen Fairley. Executive Director for CFSS, described the unique opportunity, “This is an opportunity for parents of all students in all areas of the state to have a voice.”
While the current task force focuses more on education surrounding safety, the parent committee will deal more with the physical safety of students. They’ll form subcommittees discussing issues such as bullying, gun violence and gang intervention, as well as mental health support. Once parents make recommendations to CFSS, the organization could then take those to the state board of education.
“Will we talk about other safety areas? Yes, we will. But those are the ones that are aligned to the center to talk about,” Fairley said.
Parents seem to be happy with the formation of the new committee, with one parent telling me “I think this is a great idea. We need to know as parents what our children are going through on a day-to-day basis and should have a say-so in their school day.”
And Fairley said it’s vital parents are involved in ensuring their kids are safe in the classroom, “It’s all about support, supporting and coming together as a community.”
If you’re a parent interested in joining the engagement committee, applications are open until July 7.
WCTI
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