Portland students have shown again their care and attention to serious issues surrounding them. The Uvalde, Texas mass shooting of children has caused Kellogg Middle School students to act. Eighth graders walked out of class on Friday morning in protest for what they said is a lack of school safety. The students held up signs and demanded the end to gun violence. The names of the victims in the school shooting in Uvalde were spoken.
A statement was sent out to media stating: “At PPS, we require our schools to conduct three active threat drills annually – two lockdown drills and one secure the perimeter drill, and Kellogg Middle School is in full compliance. The health, safety and wellbeing of our students is our foremost priority. We listen to our students, and if they want more active threat training, we will conduct more to ensure we are creating an environment that is conducive to safety and learning.”
There is once again a push for new safety measures at schools across the nation. Students and parents alike were scared and expressed as much. It is their belief that the fear of what happened to 19 students in the elementary school in Texas can find it’s way to a local school.
Many are concerned about the lack of safety protocols at Kellogg in the event of an active shooter. There is reportedly no lockdown drills in place. Parents also attended the protest in support of their children. In addition, staff members were also in attendance. This they said to make sure the students were safe.
Some parents conducted their own protest by holding their kids out of school on Friday. This was done to send a message to Congress. Local parents are asking Congress to vote to support the Background Check Expansion Act.
