In the wake of the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, many parents nationwide have been left wondering just how safe are their kids. And for parents in Los Alamitos, it’s no different. This is one of the few times when an event that occurs in another town, another state, another coast and compels us to examine the issue at hand locally in our community, or in this case, on our schools’ campuses.
This is where the role of local community media becomes critically important and whose sincerity is tested while reporting on and delivering complete transparency on the issue directly affecting the community it serves. Unlike the national broadcast media, large market dailies, or any monthly publication, a weekly community newspaper can focus on the status of an issue deemed important by its readers of a specific community or in this case, one school district. Reflective of the community watchdog role, it’s one of many responsibilities we have as local community media to inform our readers of the facts so we may identify areas in need of improvement in an effort to safeguard our most cherished asset, our children.
In this week’s issue of the News Enterprise, we start a two-part editorial focused on the safety of our community’s kids while on campuses across Los Alamitos Unified School District. After much discussion internally not about whether or not to investigate this issue, but when to deliver our findings, we felt just after the holidays when schools have resumed would be timely as this concern is most likely foremost in the minds of parents in Los Alamitos and elsewhere. Our objective is to merely report the facts, enabling parents to ultimately decide what needs to be addressed to ensure we provide the greatest level of safety to not only children, but our educators and school administrators.
At the News Enterprise, we relish this role and will never shy away from it no matter how dire the information or news we deliver may be because ultimately, the conversation needs to start somewhere. I encourage all our readers regardless of whether or not you are a parent to communicate and engage this topic as we all have a vested interest in not only the civility of our society, but those who will one day be responsible for shaping our community and the world we live in, the younger generations.
For those of you who are “in the know” by receiving your community news weekly in the News Enterprise, we thank you for your continued readership and viewership on our news site, www.newsenterprise.net.
As always, feel free to forward your comments, observations, and suggestions to me anytime. Email me directly at: publisher@newsenterprise.net.
Thank you for your continued readership.