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A Look at Gangs and What It Means For Our Schools

While not all cases of school violence are related to gangs and gang activity, we can’t ignore the fact that more and more gangs are popping up in our schools and putting our children at risk.

We have designed this section to raise awareness about gangs in our schools not only for parents and teachers but for students as well. By educating ourselves about gangs we can better teach our children why they need to steer clear of them as well as learn ways to find out if your child is involved in some type of gang activity. You may believe that you would know if your child or teen was a member of a gang, but unless you know the signs to look out for, you may not find out until it’s too late.

It’s not fair to say that certain music and movies are responsible for all gang activity, but it is safe to say that the romanticizing of the gang lifestyle has something to do with children believing that it’s somehow “cool” to be in a gang. Along with the influences in the media, many children and teens end up involved with gangs simply because they want to feel like they belong somewhere. Often times this stems from something going on in the home, sadly without the parents realizing it. The best way to be able to help your child be safe from gangs is to be on top of how gangs work and know the signs to look for that may indicate that your child is involved with a gang. The more that you know, the more that you can teach your child and the more credible you can seem should you be faced with having to tell your child why he or she should get out of a gang.

Understanding the risks involved with having gangs in our school is just one way that you can help keep our schools safe from gang violence and crimes. We also offer information on ways to get involved in the fight against gangs. Our articles offer you valuable advice on things like talking to your kids about gangs to ways to influence them down a path that doesn’t include gangs in order to feel as though they belong.

The elimination and prevention of gangs in our schools isn’t only up to the law enforcers or the school boards. It begins with you the parent. You have far more control over this than you may even realize and we hope that spending some time reading these articles will give you the tools you need to take charge when it comes to gangs and keeping your children safe.