A back to school prayer

(Children’s Defense Fund) – September and the beginning of fall are traditionally thought of as “back to school” season. Whether students and their teachers have been in their classrooms for just a few days or a few weeks already, this is usually the time when routines start settling in, and school days return to familiar patterns. This year, the first week of September was disrupted by a terrible tragedy that has become its own all-too-familiar routine in our nation: headlines about another school shooting. The heartbreak this time was at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, where two 14-year-old students and two math teachers were killed by a 14-year-old student armed with an AR-15-style rifle.In school districts across our country, students now regularly prepare for moments like this, starting with “hiding practice” for the very youngest children in pre-K and kindergarten classrooms. When will all of our leaders – and not just some – agree we should protect children, not guns? Related Stories The Washington Post, which keeps count of school shootings that have taken place since the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, reported on the trends it has found, including the disproportionate impact on students...