The Sandy Hook tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut in December has
changed the ways in which many school districts, communities,
and parents think about what makes kids safe at their schools.
According to the Children’s Defense Fund of California, “school
districts across California and the nation have responded to the
rational fears of parents by deploying more police on school
campuses.” Understandable, the 40-year-old successful nonprofit
notes, but “While police are an important part of overall
community safety, they are not the most effective means of
keeping schools safe and can actually have a counterproductive
effect.” What does work, then? With its ongoing research, and
focus purely on improving the lives of children, the CDF would
seem well qualified to educate the community and policymakers
alike as to the most effective methods of keeping kids safe.
What is special about this organization’s approach is that it is
purely on the side of children, with no other agenda of its own.
While the CDF “champions