"Keeping kids safe is common ground," said Dennis Carlson, superintendent of Anoka-Hennepin Schools in Minnesota in an article that ran recently in the New York Times. Carlson went on to say "I think the adults are much more interested in making us into a political battlefield than the kids are. We have people o the left and the right, and we're trying to find common ground on these issues."
Anoka-Hennepin Schools, located just north of Minneapolis, is Minnesota's largest school district with 38,000 students. The New York Times reported that the school district has suffered eight student suicides in the last two years, a tragedy that prompted state officials to declare a "suicide contagion." According to the article, even the U.S. Department of Justice is said to be investigating complaints of harassment of gay students in the district.
"Keeping kids safe is common ground." These might be the most powerful, most insightful words I've seen lately when talking about how to keep kids safe from bullying, especially when the bullying is at a level where teen suicides are occurring at a rate of about one death every 90 days in a Anoka-Hennepin Schools. This is an absolute tragedy, and it is absolutely preventable.
Take a stand today and get involved in your community and see what you can do to make your schools safer. Bullying is a problem in every single classroom in America, and we can stomp out bullying by getting involved and demanding safe schools for a our kids. Get in touch with your lawmakers and school officials. Solving this problem will lead to some heated debates, but remember, "Keeping kids safe is common ground."
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