Aligned in their concerns, parents spearhead efforts to create change locally 

Since 2021, local grassroots advocacy group Access Education RRISD has hosted community-wide engagement opportunities bringing key issues to the attention of district leadership.

“No single action we can recommend to our school board will keep kids in Round Rock ISD safe from gun violence when American culture is steeped in violence and inequity,” Access RRISD said in a statement on the Uvalde shooting. “Many steps must be taken, by many people, at many levels, in order for this awful trend to shift. This problem is so much larger than making sure the back door is locked or another SRO or counselor is hired.”

Craig Beers, a member of Access RRISD, is a parent of an incoming sixth grader and third grader. His decision to increase his involvement within school board processes, like many, came as a result of the structural changes to learning caused by the pandemic. This choice also coincided with a desire to understand the decision-making that would factor greatly into his children’s transition from elementary to secondary education. Sharing worries over the sheer frequency of gun violence in schools coupled with the stagnation of progress, Beers emphasizes the grim reality hindering comprehensive policy change. 

“Statistically speaking, it’s something that is still relatively rare,” Beers said. “That’s not to say that fear isn’t always there. This is something that could be prevented. There needs to be gun control. That’s the single most [prominent] issue here of why this is occurring; locking down more schools [and] God forbid, arming teachers is just wild. It doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world.” 

In light of recent incidents, Beers facilitates such conversations with his own children. Pointing to the importance of identifying preventative measures, Beers looks at the continuity of past events as a telling avenue to strengthen discourse on the complexities of firearm safety.  

“I try to teach them about what happens if they encounter a gun [and] what gun ownership in Texas [looks like],” Beers said. “If they visit somebody’s house, there’s probably a high likelihood that person may own guns, and they may have guns just laying around. The schools already teach ways to avoid conflict, so [I reiterate] those points at home.” 

With increased investment in campus safety comes the concern for changes observed in the learning environment with growing police presence, and potential ramifications it poses on student mental health. 

“I don’t think it’s had any positive impact on student outcomes,” Beers said. “Officers that are extensively there to keep safety [have] not yielded any beneficial results. As far as I can tell, and things that I’ve read, is that the presence of these officers have not reduced or eliminated these types of shootings. You’ve seen stories of officers arresting children, and stuff that used to be the responsibilities of teachers. [The] unfortunate ways policing is used right now, especially [with] minority communities and people of color, has had a negative impact on certain people.” 

Entrenched in the polarities of the modern political climate, divisions are often worsened by social media. Though digital platforms host discussion with contributors of every background, hostility attached to these online environments render possibilities for civil interaction difficult. Beers believes parents are key in mobilizing the community, a step critical to spurring larger national awakening. 

“These concerns certainly aren’t new,” Beers said. “This has been occurring for a long time, [and] it certainly has, multiple times in Texas. The thing to do, is of course, keep writing. Representatives should know that this is a concern amongst parents. We need to have our voices heard.” 

Fellow Access RRISD Member Meenal McNary who is also a leader in the organizing groups Round Rock Black Parents Association (RRBP) and Anti-Racists Coming Together (ACT) shared similar sentiments. 

“Both groups have fought against the formation of a police department in our schools, knowing full well how harmful police are to marginalized communities, Black and Brown children, children receiving [special education] (SPED) services, our Queer community, and then the intersection of all those,” McNary said. 

Most recent data released by the district in November 2019 found that 0.8% of the total student population received in-school suspension, during which 2.2% of Black students and 1.9% of special education students also received in-school suspension. Key findings evidence that Black students, who made up 9.04% of the total student population of 51,807 enrolled in 2019, represented nearly 25% of all in-school suspensions assigned. Similarly, special education students, who made up 10.28% of the total student population, represented a staggering 18.48% of all in-school suspensions assigned. 

“We have transitioned from SROs, who were harmful and have hurt children in our district, to a full scale police department, which we’ve spent millions on,” McNary said. 

An Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion came to fruition in August 2020 following years of community input and research completed by a designated task force. Instrumental to aiding campuses develop actionable goals under a guiding ‘Equity Framework,’ proposing solutions to inequities faced by marginalized youth first began by analyzing the scope of demographic groups represented in the student body. Considerations made in this process were paramount to reinforcing the foundation for prolonged activity by individuals at all stages of school board involvement. 

“Especially for our district, specifically town halls and the superintendent, who has been wonderful in meeting with different groups of people, knows how we feel about this,” McNary said. “He’s the one that puts people in place and makes innovative decisions to make sure that we are doing what we can to protect our students, and that gun violence is the last thing they need to worry about when they go to school. Gun violence should be the last thing I worry about when I send my child to school.” 

For McNary, efficacy of leadership continues to remain synonymous with proximity to resources, a privilege that magnifies the changing landscape in which leadership operates and thrives. Come November, midterm elections will become center stage for those fighting for change in local office. 

“I would love more access to the people that are in power making these policies,” McNary said. “Because oftentimes, those white men in power, they listen to their base who look and sound like them. And we can’t touch them. It almost seems inaccessible at times.”