MUSD parents and students advocate for school safety following Nashville shooting

While the nation reels following the Nashville, Tenn., incident on March 27 in which three young children and three adults were shot and killed at an elementary school, Maricopans are advocating for safe schools closer to home. 

On March 29, parents and students spent hours outside the Maricopa Unified School District, raising awareness for school safety.  

Among the crowd was mother-daughter Darla and Lisa Hyche, holding signs that read, “Make our schools safe” and “Honk if you support safety.”  

“Kids need to feel safe,” Darla said. “No kids should ever be scared to go to school.” 

At the MUSD board meeting later that night, Assistant Superintendent Tracey Pastor provided updates regarding the ongoing classroom discipline and campus safety work study – including reviews with administration, policy overviews and audit results. 

Principals from Desert Sunrise and Maricopa Wells completed a safety and security audit with the TRUST on March 16. 

They checked doors and locks, ensured classrooms have fully equipped emergency bags, added signage for trespassing and urged MUSD staff to practice lockdown drills. 

“The feedback was constructive,” Pastor said. “And they applauded us for investing resources and taking measures to ensure the safety for employees and students.”   

Lisa Hyche, a nurse at St. Luke’s Behavioral Center in Phoenix, works with children with behavioral disorders or who feel lost and hopeless.  

“It’s a sad thing,” she said. “When kids feel like no one is helping them, a lot of their anger gets directed toward violence.”  

Whether it’s throwing a folder across the floor or threatening a peer, Lisa said it always must be taken seriously.  

According to the Gun Violence Archive – a non-profit research database – there have been 131 mass shootings across the U.S. so far this year, including the Nashville attack.   

The organization defines a mass shooting as “an incident in which four or more people are injured or killed.”  

But Darla, a mother of six MUSD students, believes the solution can start with more mental– health resources and recommends the district implement mandatory behavioral programs.    

“Schools are for teaching and learning,” Darla said. “Our kids are at school sometimes more than they are at home with their own parents.”  

She wants her children to feel supported in schools, with access to counselling when needed. The Hyche’s frequently attend Governing Board meetings in hopes of  improving education for students, parents and staff.  

The district’s work study on the issue in entering its third month. 

“I don’t have all the answers right now,” Lisa said. “But I’m going to try, because I wish I did.”