Protect Our Children: End Off-Property Lunch & Gym And Secure Gault Institute Now

Every morning, we send our children to school trusting that they will be protected. Right now, that fundamental trust is broken.

Following a deeply unsettling attempted luring incident on Friday, parents across our community have been left shaken, anxious, and demanding answers. While we are grateful for the school staff's quick intervention, relying on luck and vigilance is not a safety plan. The lack of transparent communication has created a vacuum filled with fear and conflicting reports, leaving parents unable to properly educate and protect their own kids. But the core problem is much larger: the climate directly outside our school has dangerously deteriorated, and our children are being placed directly in harm's way every single day.

Our downtown surroundings have reached a crisis point. Over recent months, families and daily commuters have witnessed rapid escalation; open drug use, erratic confrontations, public lewdness, strangers interacting with students through the perimeter fence, and two separate gun-related incidents within blocks of the school in just two weeks.

The school administration cannot control what happens off school grounds and that is exactly why students should not be taken off of them!

It is unconscionable that young elementary students are still being marched off school grounds to the church for lunch and physical education. Dedicated staff members cannot act as bodyguards on public sidewalks against unpredictable, volatile individuals. Supervised or not, this does not eliminate the exposure and risk of an ill-intentioned individual on the street. Why are we removing the barrier between our children and these erratic people on the streets as the situation gets worse, instead of increasing the barrier between them?  Compromising student safety to avoid hiring lunch monitors or reallocating indoor space is completely unacceptable.

We, the undersigned parents, guardians, and concerned community members, demand immediate, concrete action from the school administration and the school board:

End All Off-grounds lunch and gym: Immediately stop taking students off school property to the church for lunch and gym. Relocate lunch to classrooms and adapt physical education activities to remain strictly on campus grounds.
Fortify Campus Perimeters:Install high-coverage privacy screening along the school fencing to prevent unauthorized individuals from viewing, photographing, or interacting with children in the yard.
Increase Physical Security & Presence: Mandate dedicated on-site security personnel and secure active local police patrols during all outdoor recess hours.
Transparent Safety Communication: Implement a clear protocol that provides parents with timely, factual details regarding safety threats and incidents, stopping rumors and empowering families to safeguard their children.

No parent should feel that sending their child to elementary school is an act of taking a gamble. We will not wait for a tragedy to occur before common-sense measures are taken.

**Sign this petition to demand that our school keep our children inside protected grounds.**