School Violence--Withdraw the Kids or Keep Them In?

Keeping Your Kids Safe  --What are Your Options?

A 14-year-old student was shot in the head at Price Middle School in Atlanta, GA.  Twenty-six people were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.  A 5-year-old girl was abducted from Cullens Bryant Elementary School in West Philadelphia  PA.  Teachers are being arrested and charged with sexual assault of their students.  Children are being consistently bullied to the point where they commit suicide.  Laquanda Pittman, mother of a six-grade boy at Price Middle School, said “As a parent, you just think you can send your child to school and you hope they come home OK."  The father of the girl abducted from school said that the family is making arrangements to homeschool the girl because she is still too traumatized to return to school.

What do you do? How do you protect your children?  Are public schools safe for children?  Should you try to homeschool your children, send them to private school, or let them remain where they are?  So many questions and not many answers.

Many parents are torn right now as they consider their options for educating their children.  They continue to compare their public school years to that of today and some stand by their belief that despite the recent challenges public school systems have faced, public schools are great!  Some are completely frightened and terrified of sending their children to school for fear of them being killed or injured, bullied, abducted, assaulted, molested, etc.  Still others are neutral.  These parents are more than likely in schools where academic achievement is high and they feel that they do not have to worry about the safety of their children.

To make the best decisions for your children, you must decide what is important to you.  Figure out your values and ideals about safety, academics, sports, and other extra-curricular activities.  Think about college and career readiness when doing your research.  Additionally, decide about your ideals for the social aspect of education.  Consider the time involved and your availability to help your children.  Lastly, you have to consider funds and funding. Rate the level of importance for each of the decisions mentioned. Research your options and compare them to the rated levels of importance for each deciding factor.  

These are your options:

1. Public School
• Convenient, cost is free, diverse
• educational design is standard with little to no flexibility
• quality of education may be lower than other options
• parental involvement may be low
• limited individual attention
• safety concerns
• peer problems
2. Private School
• higher quality of education
• possibly leads to more future opportunities
• close community
• more individual attention
• less safety concerns
• more parental involvement
• less diversity and limited experiences
• cost range from low to expensive
3. Homeschool
• control what your child learns
• flexible and more freedom
• no safety concerns
• limited social interactions
• may have problems separating school and home
• some costs for materials
• high parental involvement
4. Charter School
• smaller school
• similar education to public school
• cost is free
• more parent involvement
• more individual attention
• may need transportation due to location
• may have less safety concerns
5. Magnet School
• higher quality of education
• considered a public school with specialized areas of study
• considered safer
• cost is free
• more individual attention

Which option(s) are you leaning more towards? Please comment below and share this information with others.

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About the author:

Aquarius Cain is the CEO of Accelerated Learning Educational Services. She is a full-time tutor with more than ten years of combined teaching and tutoring experience.  As an educator, Mrs. Cain is a lover of learning and any opportunity she gets to spread knowledge through training the mind, she does, in her own unique way!

Connect with Aquarius Cain on LinkedIn

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About Accelerated Learning Educational Services (ALES):

ALES is a tutoring company that provides comprehensive tutoring services. Students in grades K-12, college students, and adult learners can get quality tutoring through an online course, live virtual one-on-one tutoring, or in-home tutoring.  For more information on the world-class services and service areas provided by ALES, visit the website: www.acceleratedlearningservices.com. 

Follow Accelerated Learning on Twitter
Like Accelerated Learning on Facebook 

Breaches in School Security

Are Your Children Safe At School?

By Aquarius Cain

View more videos at: http://nbcphiladelphia.com.

Recently, there have been breaches in security at several schools throughout the U.S.  From the shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT and now a child abduction from Bryant Elementary in West Philadelphia.  There was also a security breach at JFK High School in Cleveland just days ago.  Even I experienced an incident with my 3-year-old son recently that has me wondering, “Are our kids safe at school?”

With metal detectors and an x-ray machine, you would think that students at JFK High School in Cleveland would be safe.  Not the case.  One side door was found unlocked and open with no personnel there to guard it.  Anyone could have walked into the building from that entrance.  The door is usually used by faculty and staff only.  Luckily, there was no incident or crime that occurred.  So, how did the door become unlocked and who left it open? 

But what about the little 5-year-old girl, Nailla Robinson, who was abducted from her elementary school in West Philadelphia just minutes after her mother dropped her off at school?  An amber alert was issued on January 14, 2013 for the missing girl hours after someone walked into the school pretending to be her mother and checked her out.  How did this happen? How can someone walk right into a school and take someone’s child?  It was only after a daycare provider came to pick little Nailla up that school officials realized she was missing.  They called her parents and issued the alert.  She was found early this morning (January 15, 2013) crying and cold nearly 10 blocks away from where she was abducted.  Thankfully she was okay.

I can completely understand parents’ concerns over the safety and protection of our children.  My son was missing at daycare during an afternoon transition to combine classes.  I walked into a dark and empty classroom to retrieve my 3-year-old son’s belongings before going to pick him up from another class.  As I walked to his cubby I hear, “Mommy.” I turn around and see my son walking from a back corner of the classroom alone (let me remind you that it was dark in the classroom).  Immediately, so many things are running through my mind but I kept my composure to question my child about why he was in the room alone.  He never left the room!  The teacher did not make sure that all of the children left the room.  Yes, she did a head count but failed to line them up at the door.  She simply told them to “come on.”  My major concern was that he was alone and anything could have happened to him.  The teacher noticed that A CHILD was missing but did not know which one.  When she sent another teacher to look for a missing child, that teacher only checked the bathroom before walking out to check the playground.  My son was okay and unharmed but this raises major concerns about policies, procedures, and the safety and security of our children.

How do we make sure our children are protected when we are entrusting their lives to child care providers and school systems?  “Schools are soft targets. They have multiple entry points, are known to be gun free and are target rich environments,” says Mike DeBoer, a retired Battle Creek police commander.  Mr. DeBoer continues to offer solutions, suggesting that schools conduct regular security surveys at each building to identify weaknesses and improve security.  Locked doors and glazing materials should be used as a first line of physical defense against predators. I believe there should be monthly trainings for teachers and child care providers to attend to review safety policies and procedures and to practice them.  While it may be costly, an investment into security and identification equipment is necessary as well.  Had Bryant Elementary had an identification system with photo id software identifying persons with permission to pick the child up, I believe that would have prohibited Nailla from being abducted.

Related Articles:

Missing Girl Abducted From School Has Been Found

JFK High Security Breach

Mike DeBoer Analyzes School Shootings

Do you feel that your kids are safe at school?  What security measures, policies and procedures are in place that makes you feel secure about sending your children to school everyday?

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About the author:

Aquarius Cain is the CEO of Accelerated Learning Educational Services. She is a full-time tutor with more than ten years of combined teaching and tutoring experience.  As an educator, Mrs. Cain is a lover of learning and any opportunity she gets to spread knowledge through training the mind, she does, in her own unique way!

Connect with Aquarius Cain on LinkedIn

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About Accelerated Learning Educational Services (ALES):

ALES is a tutoring company that provides comprehensive tutoring services. Students in grades K-12, college students, and adult learners can get quality tutoring through an online course, live virtual one-on-one tutoring, or in-home tutoring.  For more information on the world-class services and service areas provided by ALES, visit the website: www.acceleratedlearningservices.com. 

Follow Accelerated Learning on Twitter
Like Accelerated Learning on Facebook