For the sake of maintaining a modicum of OPSEC, I will simply say this: the security at my daughter’s school is woefully inadequate. (I’d say laughably but then it’s no laughing matter.) The question is: how do I broach the subject with the principal if, indeed, that’s the best place to start? As I previously reported, the jefe’s already gave me grief when a parent suspected I was carrying on school grounds (someone glimpsed my empty holster). Nowadays he gives my hip the malocchio every time he sees me. When I asked him if the school was participating in Texas’ ludicrous school marshall program he looked at me as if I had pin lice in my eyebrows. So now what? What’s the best way to kick someone’s ass begin the process of rectifying the security situation – without scaring the horses (i.e., teachers, administrators and fellow parents)? Petition? Committee? Call the school district? What?
Join the American Federation of Teachers. They’re running the asylum.
Attend the next major homeschool function in your area. You will be amazed at how much sanity there is in this community. You will be astonished at the resources available to help the homeschool family. It will leave you atwitter at how many opportunities for homeschool social events, clubs and sports there are for your young charge. I could go on but I don’t want to spoil your surprise…
Idk, but when you figure it out make sure to do a write up!
I was going to post this http://kut.org/post/map-are-these-austins-worst-intersections , but then of course I realize that this is TTAG, not TTATS (TTA Traffic Safety).
Seriously, though, biggest danger is on the way to-and-from school. Lots of, shall we say, “interesting driving styles” in Austin.
Change the laws. Become very politically active. These people are entrenched in their ideals and will not budge without a direct and credible threat to either their job or actual incarceration.
Get a law passed requiring them to have officers on-site and requireing them to allow teacher carry.
Useless, 2 years later he will have nothing to show for it.
School Board meeting.
Perhaps something a tad more discreet first?
Everytime you see him, start handing him a card or a single sheet of paper with this on it:
http://cdn0.sbnation.com/imported_assets/829936/duck_and_cover_fallout.gif
You could also go with the “Bert the Turtle” signs if you want something less provocative.
I’m not sure how things work in your school district, but in the district where I work once you have had a discussion with the principal you have a couple options- attend a PTA meeting and bring it up there, and also make contact with central admin for your district. If you feel afterwards that things are not moving in the direction you’d like then the next step would be a school board meeting. Then county board of supervisors. Then…
I still work for a school district, Tfunk has the right idea. Start with the PTA, this is where you will garner most of your parental support and then move on up the ladder (PTA, district administrators, school board). Remain polite, persistent and consistent throughout your dealings with all parties involved. If they haven’t done so already suggest getting a security consultation company involved so any security recommendations made will come from a company that they will listen to, not just some guy off the street that has a kid in their school (i.e. you). If they bite and you get them to begin a search for a security consultation company be prepared to assist in seeing it through. Good luck!
Yup. And you have a lot of careful strategizing, support finding, mentor seeking, and careful messaging to do, that will probably hit a stone wall, and at best, lead to change only after your daughter is out of school, which will open you to all sorts of nasty innuendo and passive aggression towards your daughter by some teachers. Sorry to say, its the nature of the political environment in schools these days. Are you ready for that? Is it really worth it?
You might serve your daughter best by simply enrolling her in a safer private school, or charter, or move to another part of town. How unsafe is the school really? Can you get to your parked car, in worst case scenarios, and back, armed before first responders arrive, GFSZ be damned at that point, when you are volunteering, for example, as the recess safety monitor.
Would it make more sense to spend your time and energy learning Krav Maga? You know, charge a gun, run from a knife? You probably have just about as much chance of victory if you fight hard and smart, that way, as with a gun, especially compared to the average looney tune that would come on campus to shoot em up. Its not like you are going to walk up to the Adam Lanza like the brave but foolish Principal, or the ex-marine school teacher who got shot for trying to talk the kid down, forget the place, but not long ago.
But, if you decide to go ahead on this mission- then some advice-
You have already established that you someone to be wary of, in this Principals mind, based on your account so far, and the attention from your posts before, and this one, simply by virture of TTAGs success. So you are on the lefts radar screen, and they are wayyyy better organized than you, and inside the school system far deeper than you can imagine, so you have a long job ahead of you.
Principals are usually more conservative than teachers, in comparison, and in most cases ideological opponents, in terms of contract negotiation, at the very least, but also performance, and the Principals I know tend to be a mix of people who get the conservative side of things but have to be very careful to be PC, or they are hacks who couldnt make it as teachers and promoted up, to serve the unions party line, in communities that are progressive-libtard. Look at how well that works in places like Chicago and LA, in the face of reality, to get some idea of what you are up against- facts vs ideology. So you have to simply bypass the Principal if he is not getting it, and already privately giving you advice.
Now, I have no idea what district you are in, but Austin has a reputation for having turned blue in a traditionally red state of Texas.
So you need to do what the military calls intelligence prep of the battle field.
Go talk one on one with each member of the School Board. Take them to lunch, and just talk- dont pitch them, just get to know them- whats their agenda? You should be able to google this in the news at the last election. If they wont meet, then talk to the Chamber of Commerce, the local PTAs, the Rotary, the realtors who have been around a long time (female realtors know most of whats really going on in the school districts because their kids went to school there and they talk to the smart mommies moving in).
Next is the School District Superintendent. He/she already knows about you, and if not, will soon in about a day, thanks to this post. Austin is not THAT big a town, and theres lots of liberal nitwits with nothing better to do than read TTAG and pass it along to their MDA PTA mommy friends.
So you might as well be open but friendly and just gather facts. Intel.
Next step: This is a Strategic Sale- read the book by Miller Heiman. You have to find the professional and personal win-wins of each person on that board, and if they wont share it, a coach, that is an insider who knows them, who will help you understand the process and how to communicate to each, on what matters, who the big dog is, the person who can say yes, when everyone else says no, and thats usually the one writing the check- which is easy in private business, but much harder in school politics.
The bottom line. You will probably have to run for district office and win, and then lead a long lonely battle to educate, that will end, with no promise on results, long after your daughter is off to college.
Oh, and did I mention that the left fights dirty? You are going to be subject to character assassination of the most passive aggressive type, and your daughter potentially subject to sneaky dirty tricks by some teachers. I know it sounds horrible, but ask someone who has had high schoolers graduate, what their experience was, if they were very conservative and dared to challenge the powers that be…it should be that way, and I hope I am wrong, because every district has its own personality and culture, but its very possible.
Why do you think smart wealthy people and politicians put their kids in private schools? With security guards.
You will get better ROI on that investment, in cash spent on her education, especially when you consider opportunity costs from spending time on this, vs building TTAG and spending quality time with your daughter,
trying to fix whats broken in schools – thats a generational effort thats slow and heading the wrong way, unfortunately.
You would do better to shelf this and wait until she is out of school, if you cant afford private school, sorry to be so blunt.
I’m reminded of what Emerson (in his Courage essay) said one of his neighbors told him when he asked him if he was going to the town meeting: “No; ‘t is no use balloting, for it will not stay; but what you do with the gun will stay so.”
You need the help of Chuck Norris. There is nothing a good round house kick cant fix.
Could a potential be to start a petition and then show it to the principal? Ask a high ranked police officer to talk to the principal?
Withdraw your daughter from the public school.
For many more reasons than the security issues, sending your children to public schools in today’s America is parental malfeasance.
well put, I much less eloquently said this to my wife the other day as we talked about possibly home schooling in the future, that public schools are getting to be nothing more than holding pens and re-education camps.
Hearts and Minds, both need an equal nurturing and grounding in freedom and truth 🙂
I’d have to agree with this approach.
Even if you somehow could convince THIS school board into honoring the Constitution, doubtlessly this won’t be the last public institution your kids will visit and attend.Had you entered a university with an empty holster, you’d probably would have triggered a lockdown in the process.
Home school them , so that you can control the knowledge base of your kids instead of Obama and Bloomberg.
After Columbine way back in 1999, my folks said adios to the public school system and homeschooled me up to freshman year of HS. I can critically think and evaluate issues, while most of my public school peers cannot.If government can’t be trusted to even make a website properly, why the hell would you trust them with your kids’ very ability to THINk ?
As a dedicated and evangelical homeschooler, I agree 100%. There are a LOT of reasons to not participate in government indoctrination; security is but one.
Homeschooling is incredibly liberating, just like any other case of taking personal responsibility is liberating.
Your children are worth it.
I certainly have nothing against homeschooling – just want to point out that it isn’t the only alternative to pulling a child out of the public schools.
Indeed. As evangelical as I am for homeschooling, what I really support is the CONSIDERATION of homeschooling…that is: choice.
My biggest problem on this topic is people that either (a) think they have no choice than public school or that public school is somehow the standard to meet or (b) that people say that want to make another choice then offer up 10,000 excuses for why they can’t (all of which, in most cases at least, can be overcome).
Just yesterday, I heard about a charter school in this county or the next one over that is losing its charter. The interesting points are:
(1) This school had a specific mandate to focus on disadvantaged children
(2) The loss of the charter was based on past performance problems, and the school has since been taken over by a new batch of folks committed to keeping it in place.
(3) In fact, they are so dedicated to the mission of this school that they have agreed to make it private (and somehow funded) for a couple of years until they can apply for a new charter after the new ‘management’ shakes the bad reputation from the past.
(4) They are keeping the mandate to cater to underprivileged young people and are aggressively seeking scholarship monies recently allocated for “choice.”
Now, to me, these folks sound earnestly dedicated to serving the youth they teach. So far as I can tell, they seem like a good alternative to ‘public school.’
Live on School Choice.
Agreed. Make a case by collecting facts and figures showing how “gun free” zones cause mass shootings. And who wants to inflict Big Brother’s propaganda mill on their kid? Isn’t that tantamount to child abuse?
this.
Also read The New School by Glenn Reynolds. You guys are alike and his daughter a few years ahead of yours. Smart kid got school online after realizing only 2.5 hrs on avg actual learning at public schools 8 hr day of babysitting and proglibtard brainwashing…
Theres got to be several decent charter schools in Austin that combine real teachinhing and independent studyAustin area.
I hate to say the “L” word, but have a lawyer research the issue, and draw up a letter to the school. If they think they might be held criminally or financially liable, they are more likely to listen to reason. You could even use the (idiots’) liberals’ arguments against them, i.e. quote MAIG/Moms/Brady or whomever, highlighting their hysteria about how things are getting worse, and everybody’s going to die in the streets (schools) from gunfire.
If you threaten a school with financial liability for a rampage shooter attack and you RUN THE MOST POPULAR GUN RIGHTS PAGE ON THE INTERNET… you will be on CNN the same night.
THIS.
Drop a line to the city editor of your local paper detailing your concerns. It’s almost guaranteed that his or her eyes will light up with this potential multi-part story and a beleaguered education reporter will be assigned to look into it at once. The press might piss you off a lot of the time, but for starting a discussion, there’s nothing better than a well-placed news story. Of course, you’ll have to contend with the inevitable hysteria from overreacting parents, but hey. That’s gold for a dude with a gun blog.
Letter(s) to the editor of your local newspaper(s) might a way. Not sure if they’d be willing to publish under “A Concerned Parent”, though.
Sorry, but that’s a tough one.
Edit: Already posted this above, will request deletion.
+1 agreement and for providing an opportunity for journalists to stir things up; as they’re supposed to.
Yep. Letter to the editor is a fine idea, too. My guess, though, is that an assignment editor would jump all over that. It would make for a good series of stories and it would very likely generate a lot of discussion. That, of course, means hits on the company website and potential awards down the road. Editors are fairly predictable people. That said, it IS a great and timely topic for pretty much any school system in the country.
Pay some willing individuals to breech school security time and time again till something is done. Mimic real threats, create chaos, panic, pandimonioum. Then you get to say “look at what could’ve happened!” “Imagine if this had been real!” Then ask him if that is a reality he wants to deal with.
I’ve seen some really dumb ideas on TTAG. This has to rate in the top 5. Really dumb. I hope it was meant as sarcasm and I just missed it.
Sarcasm, of course. If done right, it could be highly effective though. See http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_team
Still, would have to be done correctly by the right individuals. It seems like the problem is that the school believes there is nothing wrong with their security and until proven otherwise, will continue to think the same way.
No, sig guy, no.
JWM was gentle with you.
Let me repeat, that was dumb, even if meant in fun –
you just gave the prog-libtards another “nut job” comment to point to at TTAG.
When you are in a hole, stop digging.
You could try calling the school district, or appealing to the school board, but I doubt it’d do you any good. These people are still convinced that the laws bind everyone. And will not listen to the truth that laws only affect those who wish to follow them. It’s scary. You say “Why would a man/child/woman who is intent on shooting people, or kidnapping a child, which is illegal, see the ‘no guns’ sign and say to themselves, ‘well, better leave my gun in the car and just go with my knife. Wouldn’t want to break the law.'”? To which the response has always been “LA-LA-LA CAN’T HEAR YOU!!” Or more precisely, “But the police…”
My children’s school has a full time officer on campus, and all the doors are locked at all times. And when the kids are being dropped off/picked up, there are teachers and the police officer there. They did all that so they didn’t have to allow guns in the schools in my district. But at least they did something. Short of getting a law passed that REQUIRES them to allow teachers and staff members to carry, after proper active shooter and weapons training of course, these people will not do much more.
So, your children are being conditioned to accept and be used to imprisonment?
I’m sorry, I don’t mean that as snarky as it sounds. But, please, think about this for a moment…armed officers, doors locked, threats of truancy, etc…the institution is what is being protected, not YOUR children.
JR is right – it’s the institution covering its own butt, not much else.
As someone who’s significantly less than a decade released from the public education system and enjoyed a brand-new public high school building (old one was 70+ years old) and who’s done an overnighter in the local lockup before (damn missed court date) the parallels in architecture and security protocols (tiny windows, always-locked doors, constant audio/video surveillance and serious penalties for not being in “approved” areas) didn’t escape me.
It was just plain creepy.
yes, mos def, show em a pic of one of them dildo balls while you’re at it
If you have been stonewalled by the building administration (i.e. the principal) I would first go talk with the school superintendent for the district. If that goes no where, then talk with one or more of the school board members. See if you can find a sympathetic ear on the Board of Education and talk it over. The board members can help spur on change. The last part would be to present your concerns at an open board meeting. Typically any member of the community can address the board at a board of education meeting. There is power in numbers, so if can find other community members with similar concerns, that can only help. As a career educator, that would be my approach.
Home school.
I retired from a public school system. Years after Columbine and now Sandy Hook and more You can still walk onto any campus in my area without even a fence to slow you down. You’ll find locked doors with floor to cieling windows right next to them.
The only schools that have armed cops are the high schools. If MAIG, barry, difi, mikeybnumbers and the rest would quit spinning their wheels and obstructing those of us with valid ideas as to how to protect the children we could make schools safe.
The only thing that makes sense is allowing teachers who want to carry to carry. Everything else is way too expensive and over the top given the rarity of these sorts of attacks.
Funny question,
Banks had armed guards, military bases BEFORE Clinton were very secure until Wild Bill decided to make military bases,schools etc gun free zones and we see how well that has worked
If guns are not a deterrent from criminals why does the savage in the oval office have so many armed guards?
Not everyone is as rich as Mike BUMberg who also has armed gurds and Chucky Schmuer has a full carry permit and Fat Rosie O’ Donnell has a an armed guard 24 -7
Want to protect schools get some teachers t take an NRA curse and place them back in the class room. Remember HELLery Clinton called NYC police murders and said these low lives should never have been allowed to have a weapon
Tough call RF.
If you have discussed the topic with the principal, and they are convinced their security is adequate, present them with a list of the things that should be improved. If the principal insists their security measures are still adequate and no changes will be made, ask if they would be open to a demonstration of how insecure their measures are.
If they still balk, I would move on to greener and safer pastures. Then publish a scathing expose.
You are a well known and confirmed weapons carrier. Making too big a stink could be counter productive, with you and yours ending up on a sort of community black list or extra LEO scrutiny.
Your kid has a better chance if being struck by lightning than being involved in a school shooting, and schools are not and should not look like fortresses. Calm your tits.
Your kid has a better chance if being struck by lightning
Maybe, but he still won’t let her stand under a tree with an umbrella during a thunderstorm.
Don’t you get it?
Home school or private school.
I second the homeschooling. It’s worth whatever sacrifice you make, and with regard to physical safety, there’s no question that your kids will be the safest possible.
I doubt you can change the DNA of these gun phobic “officials” without you ninos becoming a target of the faculty and
programersteachers. Grabbers are not above (figuratively) taking hostages or inflicting injustice on loved ones as a form of leverage to silence you. Studying the tactics of their cousins, organized crime, has had it’s dividends.Not to spend your hard earned cash, but a private facility might be the path of least resistance as well as the least painful for all concerned. Then again, that gives the bastards the victory of control of the schools. 9 out of 10 oppressive regimes agree, the schools are the root of social engineering.
programersteachers. Grabbers are not above (figuratively) taking hostages or inflicting injustice on loved ones as a form of leverage to silence you. Studying the tactics of their cousins, organized crime, has had it’s dividends.Screwed up edit. Sorry, hope you get the idea.
Move your kid to a private school that understands they are in the education AND customer service business.
In management, it’s sometimes said, “don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions.” I’m under no illusions that making things happen, even in the finest of Texas school districts, is a long uphill battle. Especially in central Texas, where I’ve run into more than a few parents who are clearly of the “guns make me feel like throwing up” variety. Still, you can’t go up to the principal, or the school board, or any group and just say “your security suc…, er, is woefully inadequate.” You’d need to go in and propose, well, something. Put in bullet proof glass in those full-length windows; implement the programs that are permitted in Texas now to arm select individuals; teach our kids to RUN and not shelter in place. Whatever it is – maybe even a whole set of layered solutions – it’s got to be something to which they can say “yes” or “no.”
You should start a committee or something 🙂 I’d join.
The first step would be to request the protocol used in a lock down/shooter situation. The next step would be to request a formal one on one with the Principal. During this meeting it’s best to diffuse the situation by bringing along an “expert” to brief and explain what works best according to some “federal standard”. Choose one…I’m sure you can find someone out there that has the most suitable plan during a crisis situation. If you’ve already gotten the stink-eye from him make sure your “expert” is the one that moves the conversation forward with attainable action plans and solutions to the problems you are looking for. Then…you wait. If within 1 month of that meeting nothing takes place you up the ante and ask for meetings at the local school board level. There is no reason that these meetings cant be held in private so don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!!!
Red team it.
1) Inquire to the district super and ask about their liability policy
2) Contact your state rep/senator and explain your concern and inquire why said rep/senator allows a district who fails to protect the children with an armed guard should not have state funds cut or why anyone in administration should be protected from liability
3) Go to school board and ask publicly during comments period why the board doesn’t care about the children
Sound suggestions. +1
+10 for making me grin after a long day xD
Research what may have already been tried by others to see if you can glean anything from the past. Maybe find like minded parents so it’s not just you trying to institute a change or at least a review. Ask for a copy of the schools security plan to fully understand just how bad it really is. If you can find other parents start going as a group to PTA meetings and even run for PTA leadership positions. Talk to the School Boards Attorney about your concerns and have a discussion about what has been brought before the School Board. As a friend of mine used to tell me, change happens when there is pressure from the top and from the bottom leaving the middle nowhere to go but where you want to lead them. Good luck.
There is a fundamental perception which motivates the masses to oppose armed staff and parents at schools. You must change that perception before the masses will graciously recognize our right to keep and bear arms even at schools.
And what is that fundamental perception? The masses believe that armed parents and staff are a much greater danger to our children in schools than spree killers who attack one or two schools per decade in the entire United States. Specifically the masses believe that:
(1) Many parents and staff frequently erupt in violent anger and they would inflict a LOT more damage if they were armed during their temper tantrums.
(2) Many parents and staff are bumbling idiots who cannot carry a firearm responsibly … and they will cause several injuries via negligent discharges and leaving their firearms out where children find them (and of course squeeze the trigger when they find them).
I can promptly demonstrate both logically and with real world experience/facts how that perception is totally wrong. The really big question is whether policymakers care to learn the truth much less act honorably upon the truth. While you are welcome to try that, I suspect it would easier to get photos of key policymakers with prostitutes and “persuade” them to change their policies.
PTO meetings.
I don’t know what to tell you. When even McGruff the Crime Dog is going to prison for sixteen years on pot and weapons charges, including supposedly a grenade launcher, about the only option left is homeschooling.
First look at yourself! Are you being reasonable with your assertion that your daughter’s school is all that dangerous.
Before Sandy Hook, when was the last time that someone walked into an elementary school and slaughtered the kids inside? Then add up all the victims in the last 30 years of those assaults and divide that into the number of children that have gone to elementary schools in that time period. You will see that those schools are one of the safest place a child can be. More children have probably died at school from peanut allergies than homicide. Sandy Hook was horrible, but what happened there was an outlier statistically.
Highwayman is right. The big splashy spree shooter scenario is pretty rare, statistically speaking.
Where the REAL danger in the public K-12 daycare system lurks is with those filthy rapist school teachers. Just in Texas, those cases, legally called “improper relationship between educator student”, are well into the double digits per year. Of course, that only counts convictions. How many countless others go unrevealed, or discovered but hushed up? Impossible to tell, but more than enough to matter and to keep a parent up at night, I think most of us could agree.
You’re kind of screwed since the principal knows you carry. Even if you got super discreet and somehow got found out, that would be a life changing bummer.
One possible,solution? Move to Oregon.
I know you just moved. But one can carry concealed in public schools here, and there is nothing some left wing bureaucrat can do about it.
My kids principal used to just cringe when she saw me. I made a point to always mispronounce her name.
This is a tough one, difficult to address for many reasons. You’ve already been identified & categorized/labeled in the administrator’s mind. Almost anything you do or say will likely cause this person to dig in their heels.
A few years ago, a Massachusetts father complained about gay classroom material being taught to his 5 year old child. The school ended up filing a court complaint that prohibited the father from the school grounds. Despite a reasoned approach, I would anticipate over-reaction & being demonized might result. Unfortunately that seems to be the nature of almost everyone indoctrinated into the world of educators these days.
Going over the administrator’s head may also provoke over-reaction from the superiors, who will certainly ask your local school admin. about you & past dealings with you.
Private School, then move towards homeschool or cooperative asap.
RF, I am keenly interested in how you approach this, and your results. Please keep us updated! My 2-year old girls will be going to public school when the time comes, and I see no reason to wait until they’re in school to get proactive about this. Good luck to you.
There’s nothing you can do.
In 1955, Rudolf Flesch wrote a book about public education called “Why Johnny Can’t Read.” Almost 60 years later, Johnny still can’t read. He can’t write, think or chew a Pop Tart either. Nothing changes, ever.
Forget it, RF. It’s Chinatown.
His second book was ” Why can’t Johnny’s teacher read??”
And yet, Johnny knows well both that Heather has two Mommies as well as who Daddy’s roommate is. Curious, that.
You have no good options, because he already doesn’t like you and they will take it out on you and your daughter, however, if you must try, meet with him and ask what is the security plan? ask him if he thinks the current plans does absolutely everything possible to protect the children? and if not, does it open the school board or him personally to a lawsuit in the event there is a tragedy? then when he tells you to get lost, you send a written letter warning him that school security is inadequate based on such and such state and or federal standards or based on some expert’s opinion and in the event any child is ever hurt he is open to a lawsuit and this letter represents a written notice of his and the school board’s failure to protect……
Although in CA, I’ve been a teacher since August 1999. My advice: call and ask for an appointment. Go over your concerns. Ask for definitive timelines for responses. If timelines are missed, go to the superintendent and do the same. If the superintendent blows you off as well, call the District office and ask to be put on the agenda to discuss the horrible security situation. If all else fails, use the time at the beginning of meetings to make a statement.
1. Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.
2. Never go outside the expertise of your people.
3. Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy.
4. Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.
5. Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.
6. A good tactic is one your people enjoy.
7. A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.
8. Keep the pressure on. Never let up.
9. The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.
10. The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition.
11. If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive.
12. The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.
13. Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.
That sounds really, eerily familiar…
As much as it pains me to say this . . . but either moving her to another school or home schooling are about your only options. This is not a fight you are going to win. I’d be surprised if you could get them to make real, actual food in the cafeteria, let alone deal with security issues. It’s just a non-starter, and as several have mentioned, even if you do manage to move the needle it will be long after your daughter has moved on. As much as I sympathize, given the potential for retaliation against your daughter (do NOT discount how vindictive teachers can be, I personally experienced elementary and middle school teachers actively try to fail me because my mother called them on their BS) this might be a time to cut bait.
Have your previous interactions with these folks given you any reason to think they will be receptive to your ideas? If not, they will resist you, and the obvious route is through your child. Don’t give them the opportunity. Either drop the matter or get your child out; to another public school, charter school, private school or homeschool. You can’t leave her as a hostage while you embark on the task of getting them to change in a direction they don’t wish to go. They will mess with her in an attempt to punish you.
By all means attempt to get them to improve their situation, but protect yourself and your child first.
As an aside, their very attitude is an indicator of a typical progressive dominated school, filled with multiple compelling reasons for you to seek another place for your child’s education.
Good Luck.
Mike
Robert, you have already made it on the list of parents to be “looked at closely”. What that means is that you have already been judged as a probable nut job by the guy that is patting your empty holster every time he sees you. And you need to realize that he is patting that holster hoping to catch you on the day it is full so he can call the police and have you locked up. You are not going to have any influence on that person, that opertunity has passed by. Best case is to GINGERLY find out if there are any like minded people on the school board, or parent teacher’s organization and see if you can build some sort of committee, coalition, action group, etc from there. But you need to tread carefully to avoid being publically branded as a dangerous person to have near a school. Do you know anyone in law enforcement either active or retired that can speack to the admistration at school on how to improve security? Does the school have a contract with a security firm for alarms, etc that you can contact and ask them about broaching the subject of improving things? Because of your owning this blog, and because you are on the principal’s list, you really need to find someone to advocate on your behalf or a group of people that will stand with you, because you are not going to be listened to alone. Please be careful and smart about this, I do not want to read of you being the victim of a no-knock raid because the police got called by an educator with irrational fears of guns and the people that own them.
Offer to meet with the (libtard bastard) I mean gentleman. Tell him you are concerned about your daughter & the entire school. Tell him you have considerable expertise that might prevent a disaster. Make it clear that if he ignores your help & something happens it will not look good for him or his career./// You keep this roudy bunch of misfits in line, how hard could it be? Randy
Consult first with the President of your nearest chapter of ASIS International. http://www.asisonline.org
This is THE professional society for Physical Security professionals, and numbers local Chiefs of Police and security vendors among the membership. Before I retired I was a member for decades.
The local chapters are always on the lookout for community projects to help with; this would fit perfectly. You’ll get a ton of free professional advice and help just for the asking. And school security was on their agenda long before it was a “thing.”
The 2009 Homeschool Progress Report found “homeschoolers scored 34–39 percentile points higher than the norm on standardized achievement tests. The homeschool national average ranged from the 84th percentile for Language, Math, and Social Studies to the 89th percentile for Reading.”
http://www.hslda.org/docs/study/ray2009/2009_Ray_StudyFINAL.pdfsource:
From Homeschooling Grows Up:
Homeschool graduates are active and involved in their communities. Seventy-one percent participate in an ongoing community service activity (e.g., coaching a sports team, volunteering at a school, or working with a church or neighborhood association), compared to 37% of U.S. adults of similar ages (Table 2). Eighty-eight percent of the homeschool graduates surveyed were members of an organization (e.g., such as a community group church or synagogue, union, homeschool group, or professional organization), compared to 50% of U.S. adults.
Only 4.2% of the homeschool graduates surveyed consider politics and government too complicated to understand, compared to 35% of U.S. adults(Table 2). This may account for why homeschool graduates work for candidates, contribute to campaigns, and vote in much higher percentages than the general population of the United States (Figures 2 through 7). For example, 76% of homeschool graduates surveyed between the ages of 18–24 voted within the last five years, compared to only 29% of the relevant U.S. population (Figure 7). The numbers of homeschool graduates who vote are even greater in the older age brackets, with voting levels not falling below 95%, compared to a high of 53% for the corresponding U.S. populace. Interestingly, the three participants in the age-55–69 category were also more civically active than their peers nationwide (but the sample size was so small that this category was/is not included in the figures).
source: http://www.hslda.org/research/ray2003/HomeschoolingGrowsUp.pdf
These studies speak for themselves better than I could ever hope to do. You would your daughter a great favor if you pulled her out and homeschooled her. Under Texas law it is very easy to pull her out and homeschool her.
Like many others have already said, if you take the matter of the poor security up with the school officials you and/or your daughter are in for a world of hurt.
The school
Remember, those reports also take the dregs of society, inner city schools in their statistics. Find a good suburban school, with a bright child, public schooling is just fine.
Why would you go to the principal? Principals are middle men. That’s like telling the gun store clerk that Glock shoulda made the 42 9mm instead of .380. He can’t change the policy. Go to the parents, bring pictures, research, videos, stats, and a big ol’ emotional plea. Change some of the opinion. Then go to the board members and discuss it with them, use all of the above remember, emotional plea! Take a dump on every bad security measure they have, show them how it can happen. Make them unsure of their children’s safety as you are. Then go to a board meeting, show all of your case, ask to show and share the TTAG shooter simulation, as well as anything you have on the programs you have. Make it the only and best solution. That will make it work.
He already has no love lost for Robert; he’s gonna LOVE Robert going over his head! 🙁
Considering your current relationship with the school, I don’t think you are going to get anywhere on your own. You might want to see if you can get 15 minutes with the CLEO in the area where the school is to talk about your concerns. They would be able to get the conversation going about getting a SRO on school grounds and improving security. Plus cultivating a positive relationship with local law enforcement is usually a good thing in the event that someone in the school decides to pull a pop tart.
Time to order a home schooling info package, Robert.
Withdraw her from school, put her in a secure panic room, and stand at the door with your AR ready.
Enroll your girl in a private school that takes security serious. Playing the game with gubment schools is a non starter.
Write a letter to the local paper detailing all the security flaws.
And, before anyone immediately flames me: No, it won’t reveal any “secrets” to criminals.
If one person can spot these flaws, ANYONE can. Letting EVERYONE know about them will: A. Enable people who haven’t paid attention to start taking precautions, B. Hopefully kick-start their thinking and involvement, C. Motivate the school to FIX the flaws.
NOT talking about the problem DOESN’T get the problem addressed of fixed.
School board is the only ticket to a good guy with a gun at every school.
I’m a teacher at 2 public schools and the security is rather more lax at one school than another. I am bothered not a whit. The security at Sandy Hook was, by all accounts, superior to the security at any school I have encountered. Did it make a difference? Not at all. A crazy man intent on death and destruction will get through any amount of security. The ONLY counter is a good guy with a gun on premises. That is the only thing I would work on. Get the school district, though action at school board meetings, to get a good guy with a gun at every school, whether paid or volunteer, staff or parent, police or civilian.