The CEO of Houston crimestoppers outlines how parents may protect their children at school

Following a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, last week that killed 19 students and two teachers, Rania Mankarious, CEO of Crimestoppers Houston, provided a list of activities parents may take to protect the safety of their children at school.

The 42-year-old nonprofit’s aim is to “solve and prevent crime in conjunction with communities, the media, and the criminal justice system,” with a specific emphasis on school safety.

While parents have watched “the development of safety” protocols in schools in the aftermath of the Columbine, Sandy Hook, and Parkland school massacres, Mankarious of CrimeStoppers Houston has discovered that “a lot of… families simply don’t think this will happen where they are.”

Shootings in Uvalde, Newtown, and Littleton shock both families and elected leaders because close-knit communities “don’t think this can happen in their local little towns or local big cities because they think they’re in a beautiful community.” However, as history has repeatedly demonstrated, shootings may occur anywhere.

“We have to pause and move into believing not that this won’t happen here, but that this very well might happen wherever my child is – elementary, middle, high, and high school,” Recognizing added. “What are the rules? What are the guidelines? And what are we doing to ensure that they are followed? This necessitates including parents. That, to me, is one of the most important missing components.”

“How many parents actually sit down and read that first parent handbook at the start of the year?” Mankarious, a mother of three, inquired. “This is something I’m guilty of. However, many of us obtain the manual and store it away for future reference.”