Keeping Our Kids Safe

One of the Plymouth Public School District's highest priorities is school safety.

Researchers recently estimated that the number of children living in households with firearms in the United States increased to 30 million in 2021—up 7 million from 2015. And 4.6 million of these children live in a home with at least one loaded, unlocked gun.

On May 17, 2021, the Plymouth School Committee voted on and passed a Secure Gun Storage Resolution to help provide our families and the community with resources to keep children safe.

While we focus on all areas of safety, this resolution has a particular focus on gun violence prevention through the leadership of the district, information sharing, empowerment, and education of our school community. In partnership with our community, the Vision of the Plymouth Public Schools is to ensure that our students receive a well-rounded, high-quality education, in a safe, accepting, and inclusive environment. We are committed to empowering all students to become critical thinkers, problem solvers, creators, and innovators who advocate for themselves, their community, our nation, and the world.

We can all agree that...

• We all want kids to grow up happy and healthy.
• We each have the right to make responsible decisions about how to protect our homes, families, and communities - including whether or not to have a gun in our home.
• If we can prevent even one child's firearm death or injury, it's our responsibility to do so.

In recent years and in partnership with our Plymouth Police Department, our school district has hosted parent/guardian and community information nights with a great program - "Be SMART."

Developed by the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund and Moms Demand Action, the Be SMART program helps parents and other adults normalize conversations surrounding gun safety and take responsible actions that can prevent child gun deaths and injuries.

The program encourages parents and adults to:

• SECURE all guns in their home
• MODEL responsible behavior around guns
• ASK about the presence of unsecured guns in other homes
• RECOGNIZE the role of guns in suicide
• TELL their peers to be SMART

National Wear Orange Weekend takes place from June 2-4th. Orange has become the defining color of the gun violence prevention movement.

We'd like to invite students and staff to wear orange next Friday, June 2nd, for gun safety and gun violence awareness.

As we head into summer, let's resolve to keep all families safe! Whether it be swimming, exploring, or any other activities we love, there are proactive ways to safeguard our kids. In the US, 4.6 million children live in homes where there is at least one loaded, unsecured firearm. Don't hesitate to ask: "Is there an unlocked gun in your home?"

• MA Attorney General's Office: MA Approved Firearm Safety Locks
• Be SMART Resources & Tools: Secure Storage Practices, Facts, Findings & More
• Plymouth Police Department: Personal Safety - Kids & Weapons
• HealthyChildren.org: Guns in the Home - Keeping Kids Safe
• Everytown for Gun Safety: What We Learned Today
• About Be SMART: English | Spanish

11 Lincoln Street | Plymouth, MA 02360

Phone: 508-830-4300 | Fax: 508-746-1873

www.plymouth.k12.ma.us

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