Safe Schools & Stronger Policies: Listening to Parents, Teachers, and Our Kids

When I talk to Anchorage teachers and parents, one message comes through louder than any other: “Our kids deserve to learn in schools that feel safe; and right now, too many don’t.”

The numbers back them up.

• In the 2024–2025 ASD Climate Survey, over 60 % of teachers said student behavior and lack of consistent discipline are their biggest daily stressors.

• More than half of parents told the district they worry about bullying and safety when they drop their kids off.

• Teacher turnover in ASD is running 18–22 % per year – almost double the national average – and the #1 reason teachers give for leaving is unsupported classroom discipline (Alaska Teacher Turnover Study 2024).

These aren’t just statistics. They’re real teachers burning out and real families wondering if public school is still the best choice for their child.

We can fix this – but only if we stop relying on top-down programs that sound good on paper and start trusting the people closest to our kids: parents, teachers, principals, and community leaders.

Here’s what a real Safe Schools plan looks like:

1. Fix what we already paid for: the StopIt app The first two years StopIt was rolled out, nobody at the district level was assigned to monitor reports. Principals can’t see district-wide trends, and there is zero accountability when serious tips are ignored. I will push for a dedicated, trained team to triage every report within 24 hours and give principals real-time dashboards. If we already bought the tool, let’s make it work.

2. Put a School Resource Officer (SRO) where they belong: Every middle and high school needs its own full-time, dedicated SRO. Every elementary school should have an SRO on campus at least every other day. These trained officers build relationships with kids and act as an immediate deterrent and responder.

3. Bring our military families into the solution: Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is full of service members who want to give back. Let’s create a volunteer “Military Mentors in Schools” program; vetted active-duty and retired personnel walking halls, eating lunch with kids, and providing the exact kind of positive adult presence research shows reduces bullying and violence.

4. Launch All Pro Dad chapters at every school: Study after study shows the single biggest protective factor against bullying and delinquency is an involved father or father-figure. All Pro Dad is a proven, no-cost program that gets Dads like me on campus once a month for breakfast and conversation with their kids. Imagine hundreds of Anchorage dads visible and engaged in every building – that alone changes the culture, and the future.

5. Return discipline policies to the local level: One-size-fits-all rules written by downtown bureaucrats or teachers’ union lobbyists don’t work in Muldoon the same way they work in Sand Lake. Site-based councils – made up of parents, teachers, and the principal – should have the final say on discipline matrices, dress codes, and cell-phone policies. Parents know their kids best. Community leaders see what’s happening day-to-day. They must have the authority to act.

Teachers aren’t quitting their students – they’re quitting a system that ties their hands when a classroom spirals out of control. Parents aren’t fleeing to charter or homeschool options because they suddenly dislike public schools – they’re doing it because they no longer feel their children are safe or heard.

On April 7, 2026, we have a chance to change that. Put a reminder in your phone now to vote by scanning this QR Code:

Scan to create a calendar reminder to Vote April 7th

Vote for a school board member who will put safety decisions back where they belong: in the hands of parents, teachers, and principals – not downtown administrators who never step foot in your child’s classroom.

Together, we can make every Anchorage school a place where kids walk in with pride and purpose – and walk out safer than when they arrived.

Let’s fix this.

Alexander Rosales Dad | U.S. Air Force Veteran | Educator Candidate for Anchorage School Board www.alexforschoolboardak.com