Community members weigh in on how to make schools safer

In a public meeting Monday night, parents, school employees and community members shared suggestions for making schools safer.

The Ramsey County Community Task Force on Safe Schools brought together about 100 people in the Martin Luther King Community Recreation Center in St. Paul. Attendees talked in groups about challenges like cellphone use at school and a need for consistent behavior expectations.

St. Paul parent Ebony Young said schools should increase positive communication with parents.

"It's OK to call and say, 'Hey, your kid had a wonderful day' or 'Hey, they helped out another student,'" Young said. "They always kind of want to call when there's only a negative interaction like, 'Oh, they got mouthy' or they had attitude or they didn't want to put their iPad away."

Former St. Paul teacher Maureen Brazil-Sawyer said schools need a more diverse teaching force. She said racial equity training for teachers only goes so far.

"Training is not going to change somebody's personality," Brazil-Sawyer said. "It's not going to change the way they actually govern or monitor their classroom or their biases that they bring. That's why we're asking for teachers of color."

Input from the meeting will go to the county task force of students, teachers, parents and community members. The group plans to draw up recommendations by January.