Dads in Schools kickstart volunteer efforts: ‘We want to see safe learning spaces for all of our children’
By Maddie White
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LAS VEGAS (KVVU) — The last day of the academic year is Wednesday, May 25 for Clark County School District campuses, but a local volunteer group chose to kickstart their campus safety efforts before the year’s end.
At Ann Lynch Elementary School Tuesday, the Dads in Schools group were preparing to survey a campus for the first time when they learned of the horrible news in Texas.
The newly-formed group, founded in Las Vegas, are looking for hundreds more volunteers ahead of next school year.
“Seeing violence, both locally and nationally, everything from fights, to mass shootings, to lockdowns in schools, it just motivated us. It literally broke our heart to see children in fear,” said Troy Martinez, the founder of Dads in Schools. “We want to see safe learning spaces for all of our children.”
For the first time since its conception, the dads monitored the campus on Tuesday, specifically the dismissal process, as students ages four to 11-years of age poured out of the school building.
“Prevention through presence” is the mission of the volunteer group; they hope to prevent school violence and disturbances by providing extra sets of eyes on campuses. With rising acts of violence in CCSD, it is undoubtedly a worthy mission.
The principal at Ann Lynch Elementary school said that having the Dads in Schools group on campus Tuesday was an opportunity that she was not going to let pass her by.
“I personally reached out to Pastor Troy and was able to connect with him at just the opportune time,” said Ann Miller, Principal of Ann Lynch Elementary.
The dads stood at different points around the school building to ensure the students exited the campus safely and that traffic laws were obeyed.
“I have three kids in the community, still going through the CCSD,” said Marco Hernandez. “I just saw it on the news. That’s what made me sign up right away.”
As aforementioned, the dads were shocked and saddened to learn about the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas while at the event. They said the tragedy underlines how important it is that the community gets involved with the district to make positive change.
“Think about this, if there was a man that could have stopped a possible, ya know, shooting in Texas, from that person ever entering that school property… we wouldn’t have that horrible news today,” Martinez said.
While the group is primarily men, Martinez said all are welcome to help out with the Dads in Schools mission.
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