School shootings causing some parents to consider homeschooling

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) -Since 2013, the year after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, mass shootings in the United States have nearly tripled, leaving many parents to wonder whether it’s safe to drop their kids off at school.

According to National Public Radio (NPR), as of Wednesday, there have been 213 mass shootings in the US that have killed 242 people and injured 912 others.

Destiney Pettis has three kids in elementary school and tells me that she has considered homeschooling her children for quite some time. But she can’t because of work.

She was scared of the pandemic, and she did take her kids out of school for a while. When they did go back, they all caught COVID. The recent shooting in Uvalde heightened her fears even more.

“It does kind of make me anxious,” Pettis said. “Like you know what if that was to happen in Lee County? Because you never know.”

She says her kids’ schools may have safety measures in place.

“Do they have certain doors locked?” she questioned. “Do they have precautions? You know if something was to happen, what would they do about that?”

She also says she doesn’t know if her kids practice active shooter drills in school.

Kenneth Dyer is the Superintendent of the Dougherty County School System. He says he is not worried about teachers and students returning next year.

“It certainly is heartbreaking, and we’re certainly cognizant of the fact that it could happen,” Dyer said.” That’s why we put those safety measures in place. But I think if you talk to most of our teachers, an overwhelming majority will say they feel safe when they’re in our building from outside intruders.”

Pettis says she wants to see more communication with parents from school systems.

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