PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make school safety a sustained priority in this country. Our kids are depending on us. We MUST do a better job protecting them.

Today's tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut may prove to be the deadliest shooting in a K-12 school in American history…to date. Although we’ve heard of Columbine, and Virginia Tech, we’ve become complacent, we’ve convinced ourselves that something horrible couldn’t happen  “here”.

We must not remain complacent any longer. Our children are affected by school violence at alarming rates, and we, as parents, educators, administrators and community members can no longer remain on the sidelines, convinced that we are immune. We must move past whatever impedes us from keeping schools safe. Conflicts of interest, monetary concerns, shifting priorities and any other obstructions must be cast aside.

School safety is our shared responsibility, and we must take it seriously every day of the year, not just in the wake of senseless tragedies.

Ask your local school: what is being done TODAY to improve emergency preparedness, comprehensive crisis planning, violence prevention, threat assessment management and active shooter response.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make school safety a sustained priority in this country. Our kids are depending on us. We all MUST do a better job protecting them.