After a gun was found in her son’s classroom, a mother and teacher at Mountainside Middle School is calling on local and state education leaders to implement more conflict-resolution curricula in the classroom.
Last week, police arrested an 11-year-old boy after a loaded gun was found in a Mountainside Middle School classroom .
Juliet Serrato, who is a teacher at the school, said her son was in that same class.
“He said, ‘Mom, I’m scared.’ At that moment, I lost it,” Serrato said. “That’s a week ago today and I’m still having anxiety dreams over it.”
Serrato says this is the final straw in a string of safety concerns impacting her children at school.
“My sons were attacked in unprovoked assaults,” Serrato said.
It’s not just Scottsdale. Violent attacks involving teens are impacting families across the Valley.
Because of the disturbing trend, Serrato wants to see more school districts in Arizona teach social and emotional skills.
She recommends Arizona join more than two dozen other states in implementing K-12 curriculum from the Collaborative for Social Emotional Learning.