As parents in metro Atlanta dropped off their children for the first day of school on Monday, safety concerns were not far from their thoughts in the wake of a series of mass shootings that have stunned the country.
Damien Bylthers waited outside DeKalb’s Pleasantdale Elementary before his four-year-old son’s first day of school Monday.
“Of course you want your child safe at all times. For me, more so we just, you know, have a belief that he’s going to be OK. So we stick with that belief and we try to prepare him as best we can for school and for safety.
“Because it’s happened so many more times recently I think it is something that school systems and schools are more aware of and are working harder to prepare for,” said the 30-year-old. “I guess that’s better than back when I was in school and it wasn’t really on their radar.”
Brooklyn and Jonathan Sanders dropped their son off at Pleasantdale Elementary in DeKalb. The couple said they’re more nervous for the first day of pre-kindergarten than their son is. He’s been able to visit the school before to get a feel for the building. As for security concerns, the couple said they’ve felt more secure because of the precautions they saw in place.
“There’s people like every single 10 feet that I’ve walked I’ve seen that there’s a person with a badge that’s clearly visible,” Brooklyn said. “Even just walking to school there’s a very administrative presence.”
- Vanessa McCray
Walking into Fernbank Elementary School in the Druid Hills area, parent Sara Smith said she puts faith in the school and teachers to keep the students safe.
“You can’t let that stop you from doing your normal things and living your lives,” said Smith, a former teacher.
She said one of her friends wrote online that they had a talk with their kids about where to hide in case of an active shooter.
“I don’t think I’m ready to have that conversation with this little one yet,” she said, walking with her daughter Emily, who is starting first grade. “But it did make me think for the first time that I probably need to.”
- J.D. Capelouto
Nancy Vega dropped her son off at Mableton Elementary for kindergarten. She heard the news this morning when she turn on the TV as she got him ready.
“This is my baby’s first day of school and they’re showing this on the TV,” she said. “I told him if anything bad happens find a good hiding spot and wait for mommy.”
- Meris Lutz
With her youngest starting kindergarten on Monday, Maria Cole now has three daughters that attend the International Community School, a DeKalb County charter elementary school that serves a mix of refugee, immigrant and local children.
“Certainly my thought over the last two days has been man, you just never know,” Cole said while trying to arrange her children for a photo in front of the school’s sign. “You go out and it could be that place, that day, that time.”
Cole said the families and teachers at ICS are very supportive and she feels like her children are safe. But she’s not ignorant to certain realities.
“It just seems so random,” she said. “And this is exactly the kind of place somebody would attack, because of all the refugees.”
At that, her eldest daughters’ ears perked up.
“Are you talking about school shootings?” the fifth-grader asked matter-of-factly.
- Tyler Estep
Cynthia Thomas gave her 11-year-old son a fist bump before dropping him off at East Cobb Middle school on Monday.
She said news of the mass shootings from the weekend had her wondering about how the country can solve this epidemic.
“We just all need to come together to make this stop,” said the 42-year-old finance worker.
Though the shootings weren’t at schools, she said her mind did wander to her son.
“As a mother, you always want to protect your child.”
Kelle Okonkwo, 44, said she never had to think about mass shootings growing up. But her 12-year-old son who attends East Cobb Middle School? He knows mom will pick him up at the Kroger nearby if someone starts shooting.
Her other piece of advice to him is: “Run. If you can’t run, fight.”
She said she tells her children often that the future is theirs: “Since we couldn’t come up with a solution, you have to come up with a solution.”
- Ben Brasch
Vashirl Keaton was not worried about the safety of Forest Park Middle School when she dropped her son off for the first day of class Monday for Clayton County Schools. The mother of three, who also has a child in high school and elementary school, said the district has taken school safety seriously.
“It is locked down and secure here,” she said. “I know because I tried to get a report card from [Forest Park] this summer and it took forever to get in.”
- Leon Stafford
Karey Hunter, a Chamblee High School 10th grader, said he’s more concerned about mosquitoes than he is about guns in his school.
“West Nile, I don’t like that junk,” he said. “It’s scary. There’s no treatment. If I see a mosquito, I’m going to kill it.”
- Arielle Kass
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