The shooting on the King Estates Campus this week is raising security concerns among teachers all over the Oakland Unified School District.
“We need to come together as a community in Oakland to end the gun violence, and make sure that our schools are the safe havens that our students deserve,” said Oakland Teachers Union President Keith Brown.
Brown talked about the fears and frustration of teachers who were on the King Estates Campus, when the shooting took place on Wednesday.
“This has been a difficult time for teachers, educators in Oakland. A difficult time for the entire community,” he said
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But the security concerns go well beyond the three schools at the heart of this week's shooting. Brown said teachers are calling for changes in the following three areas:
- Better communication between schools, the district and parents during times of crisis.
- Additional mental health support for both teachers and students.
- Upgrades to facilities to make schools feel more secure.
Brown said teachers haven’t specifically asked to bring back school resources officers, but he hopes other changes can be made quickly to make sure everyone is in a better position to respond to the next crisis.
"Those plans and protocols must be consistent. There must be clear and consistent communication," he said.
NBC Bay Area asked the school district for comment Friday, and they released the following statement:
"OUSD wants to thank all of our partners for coming together in support of our students and staff in the wake of Wednesday’s incident. Especially when it comes to providing wraparound mental health services to people in need, our community has been there for us and we deeply appreciate it. Those mental health resources are available to everyone in our District, with specific outreach to the King Estates campus community. We look forward to continued partnership on all the issues that our schools and communities face. As always, we will work side by side with our labor partners as we focus on what is best for our schools.”
