22047 Gresham St, Canoga Park, CA 91304

I normally would not make something like this public, especially when it involves young children, but I feel other parents deserve to know about our experience at Nevada Avenue Elementary.Over a period of time, my kindergarten daughter has experienced repeated physical incidents involving another student, including scratches, bruising, being slapped, objects being thrown at students, being stabbed in the finger with a pencil, and multiple situations where the classroom has had to be evacuated because of unsafe behavior.The most recent incident crossed a line I never imagined we would be dealing with in kindergarten. My daughter told us that during lunch, the specific student pretended his hand was a gun, put it against her lower back, and told her he was going to shoot her. She later asked me, “What if he actually shoots me because he’s angry?” No child should be going to school worrying about that.I want to be very clear that I am intentionally not identifying the other child. He is a young child, and whatever intervention or support he may need is something for the adults responsible for him and the school district to address.My concern is the repeated failure to keep my daughter and the other children safe while these incidents continue. We have repeatedly communicated with the school, met with administration, requested a formal safety plan, escalated our concerns within LAUSD, contacted LAUSD School Police, and requested that the most recent threat be formally investigated. At this point, my daughter has told us she is scared to be at school, and we are actively trying to transfer her out.I am sharing this because I wish I had known more before enrolling my daughter, and because other parents deserve to be able to ask informed questions about safety, supervision, classroom evacuations, parent notification, and how repeated violent behavior is handled.This is our family’s experience, and I have documentation of the incidents and communications referenced above. I hope Nevada and LAUSD make meaningful changes, because there are wonderful teachers and families there who deserve a school environment where children and staff feel safe.