She trusts the Ventura Unified School District to keep her son safe throughout the school day. The safety of school children is the responsibility of the bus driver, the teacher, the custodian, the playground supervisor, the principal and all the way up to my office. Parents expect and deserve to be reassured that this trust will not be breached. Schools at every level are rightly held to the highest standard of safety. Wherever children are under our care and supervision, they must be safe.
Statistics show that public schools are very safe.
In fact, violent crimes are twice as likely to occur in a student's own home than at school. Yet according to a 1994 Gallop Poll, the general public believe the biggest issue facing public schools is violence. I think there are at least two reasons for this belief. There is probably no greater fear among parents than the possibility that something bad might happen to their child. This is a natural concern.