School back in session, but some Philadelphia parents start new year with safety concerns on minds
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- School students across the area might be busy doing homework Monday night after the first day back in the classroom, It was an exciting first day back for 100,000 students within the Philadelphia School District.
Students walked the red carpet this morning and the blue carpet Monday afternoon. But the new school year also brings new worries about safety.
Parents like Angel Arroyo starting the new school year with safety concerns on their minds.
"I just feel like they need to show that they care more because y'all are supposed to be like the second family," Arroyo said.
Arroyo says she's now trying to enroll her daughter into a safer high school outside of the district.
"My concern about her since she's not that type of child who likes to fight, she's more so into education than everything else," Arroyo said, "I just wanted her to be in a school that's safe for her."
To address concerns like Arroyo's, the district and police have increased video and physical surveillance around campuses, poured resources into 129 after-school programs and expanded to 27 safety zones to help kids walking to and from school.
Principal LeAndrea Baltimore-Hagan says these new efforts worked well on the first day.
"We can't help these outside factors," Baltimore-Hagan said. "All we can do is ensure that our scholars are safe going corridor to corridor."
For father of six Darryl Windley, he says the district is doing as much as it can, but the community also needs to step up.
"They do a good job here. They look out for the kids here," Windley said. "I think parents as well, we all pull together and look out for them so I'm not concerned."