[img]1411|left|Steve Levin||no_popup[/img]Before last night’s school safety forum by United Parents of Culver City at the Vets Auditorium, Steve Levin, founding president of the union, wordlessly was standing at the rear of the Lethbridge Room, observing.
On a sunny early evening last May in the backyard of an unoccupied home where dozens of curious parents were roaming, Mr. Levin, not necessarily the out-front-leader type, reluctantly stood atop a lawn chair and spoke about the objectives of the just-forming parents union.
He said he would serve only until the people parts were in place and the machinery was starting to purr.
And so on this evening, he was two weeks removed from the presidency, and he almost seemed relieved. Over the din of the excited arriving crowd, sometimes it was difficult to distinguish his soft-spoken words.
“Our main goal for tonight,” Mr. Levin was saying, “is to bring the community together, to make sure we get answers for everybody who has questions about school safety. We also want parents to put forward ideas about things that maybe could help us be safer.
“In light of the tragedy in Connecticut, we wanted to come together, talk to each other, and understand what is going on. We have had good cooperation from the School District. I expect it will be even better tonight. We will get good information about what is going on, and we will hear from parents in the community about what maybe could be done.”
Source of Questions
Mr. Levin said that after weeks of soliciting questions from families on the union’s website (unitedparentsculvercity.com), they were forwarded to Supt. Dave LaRose.
“You may have noticed the School District put out a whole lot of material in the last week, and we think a lot of that is in response to our questions. That is great. We will make sure that is publicly available on our site.
“In terms of how to judge whether this night will be a success, I think it will,” Mr. Levin said, “if people walk away reassured, and are correct to be reassured.
“The next best thing would be this kind if reaction: ‘We are not reassured, but at least we know what to do.’
“It will be a failure if we feel as though questions did not get answered.”
Indeed, the opposite of Mr. Levin’s fears appeared to have happened – the overflow crowd went home emotionally satiated.
On Another Note
That happened after Mayor Andy Weissman waxed thoughtfully and nostalgically at the end of the program:
“My how times have changed. Fifty years ago, when I was a 13-year-old seventh grader at Culver City Junior High, we had air raid drills and practiced drop, duck and cover. Today we have run, hide and fight, and lockdown drills for my five-year-old granddaugher who is a kindergartner at Farragut. That is some reality check.
“Thank you to UPCC for putting on this forum and to the panelists for their participation, insights and knowledge.
“The matter of school safety, the seriousness of school violence, the concerns over how to effectively deal with these issues are topics that unite us all.
“There are quite a few takeaways from tonight.
“We have a responsibility to our children to provide them with the safest possible learning environment as well as keeping ourselves and them informed about the safety issues and experiences that children face every day.
“We need to continue to provide resources focused, as was mentioned by Supt. LaRose, on the whole child, including mental health services and counseling.
“We need to strive to overcome the intimidation, bullying, and mean spiritedness that seems so pervasive in our society.
“Frankly, we need to make a good example to students, not by glorifying violence, but by displaying violence as a negative activity that they should not involve themselves in.
“That can be a real challenge in our digital age and in the face of what many characterize as a culture of violence
“Our understanding and involvement as parents, grandparents, adults in general are critical.
“We should meet frequently to discuss the problems that students face and work to find ways of solving them.
“We can take comfort, not to be confused with complacency, in the knowledge that community and school climate matters— one that is strict in structure and discipline but one which also emphasizes having supportive connections with our children.
“We have a great community and terrific schools.
“We need to work together to keep them.
“Thank you for being here tonight.”
