B.F. Day Elementary Marches for Peace

B.F. Day Elementary made a visible statement about peace on March 14th. Kiro 7 helicopters captured the above image. After 25,000 people viewed the video on Kiro’s website they decided to write a special piece on what made the elementary school want to participate in what was called a “school walkout” elsewhere. I highly recommend reading the article in full for a detailed explanation which includes an interview with the principal, how the students and PTA came up with the idea, and how the older classes are very aware of the issue of school safety.

A parent with an older child at B.F. Day told me:

My kid is very aware of “active shooter” drills. He was on lock down during the Seattle Pacific University shooting in 1st grade.

I was there at the march as were many Wallingford kids and parents. Even though B.F. Day is in Fremont, it is the attendance area school for a large part of Wallingford. I have a first grader who told me about the planned march. I asked him if he knew what the march was about. Peace, he said. We’re marching for peace.

Being in the thick of it I noticed that many of the younger kids were giddy and excited. They all had posters with the words “love” and “peace.” I remarked to another parent about the first graders that “they just don’t get it and I’m glad they don’t get it.” Because how do you explain to a first grader that someone who doesn’t know them might want to hurt them for no understandable reason? How do you explain that people have actually done this? I don’t have the answer certainly but I can say that in my case I don’t explain it. Some day I will have to I suppose.

But we parents knew why we were marching. We were marching to show that we want our children to be safe, and that since we have children in school we are invested in doing everything in our power to make them safe at school. This is not a theoretical argument for us. It’s very real.

The B.F. Day march even made it to The New York Times.

Interested in doing more? I recommend checking out North Seattle Moms Demand Action.  You don’t have to be a mom. Or on Saturday March 24th 10:00 am at Cal Anderson Park you can join the March for our Lives march.