The School Safety Conversation
If you have turned on the news, checked social media, or even listened to a conversation next to you at your local coffee shop, you know school safety is on everyone's minds. It's definitely on our minds. You can read more about our ongoing safety efforts here, but let's talk about the nation's school safety crisis.
Do Students Feel Safe in School?
We love that people find Maharishi School to send their kids to a safe school. However, wouldn't it be amazing it all schools were safe? We think so! So, let's talk about this school safety issue. First, let's talk about whether or not kids feel safe in their schools.
"According to CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), nearly 8% of students had been in a physical fight on school property one or more times during the 12 months before the survey. Nationwide, about 6% of students had not gone to school at least 1 day during the 30 days before the survey because they felt they would be unsafe at school or on their way to or from school" (CDC).
Wow! That's a national issue, one that teachers across the U.S. are addressing. But let's focus on the teachers in Oklahoma.
"The teachers walking out of classrooms in Oklahoma this week are asking for an overhaul of a system whose needs have been evolving for decades. The statistics are alarming: education funding per student in the state has been cut by twenty-eight per cent in the past ten years, the largest cuts of any state in the country, and twenty per cent of the state’s schools are in session only four days a week, because of the lack of funds. Schools have struggled to keep qualified teachers, many of whom leave for states with higher pay, and classes are taught by a string of emergency-certified teachers and short-term substitutes" (The New Yorker).
We support the teachers in Oklahoma, marching for the the safety of their students and improvement of their school systems across the state, echoing across the United States.
A few weeks ago, our students displayed support for the victims of the Florida high school shooting that killed 17. They discussed ways to improve school safety amongst themselves. They also observed a moment of silence to honor the victims of the shooting.
While we are happy to have a safe school, we also always want to continue to do better. Our kids deserve it; all kids deserve it.
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