Covenant School parents launch anti-violence nonprofits

BY MATT MASTERS

A group of Covenant School parents and community members have created two nonprofits, Covenant Families for Brighter Tomorrows and Covenant Families Action Fund, to “protect children from gun violence.”

The nonprofits were announced in a press conference on Thursday in the Cordell Hull State Office Building in what spokesperson Alexei Laushkin called “a profound moment of hope in the midst of grief and loss both for the Covenant families, the city of Nashville, the state of Tennessee and indeed the nation.”

Prior to the press conference, the group gathered on the steps of the Tennessee State Capitol to pray for each state legislator leading up to the anticipated August special session proposed by Gov. Bill Lee in response to the March 27 school shooting. (Lee has yet to formally issue a special session call, and Republican lawmakers have said they do not plan to support a red-flag law like the one backed by the governor.)

“This organization [Covenant Families for Brighter Tomorrows] aims to provide education around the impact and prevention of school shootings and to improve mental health support,” Laushkin said. “The parents firmly believe that the school was made safe for that day due to the preparatory steps taken and they want to explore pragmatic steps that schools can take that keep kids safe in the event of a horrific day that, unfortunately, is becoming more common.”

Other speakers included Covenant School parents Sarah Shoop Neumann, Melissa Alexander and David Teague, who are also co-founders of both nonprofits.

Covenant Families for Brighter Tomorrows lists their objectives as advocating for “comprehensive measures that enhance security protocols, including improved infrastructure, increased training, and updated emergency response systems,” as well as increased mental health resources in schools and stricter gun safety measures while “preserving Second Amendment rights.”

“My hope is that their education and legislative advocacy I can bring up from these ashes in honor of the lives lost that we mourn so deeply for,” Shoop Neumann said, calling for “meaningful legislation,” including “firearm reform.”

Neumann held up her young son, Noah, who spoke softly into the collection of news microphones.

“I don’t want any guns for

This summer the city hosted several meetings considering school safety and gun violence through the lenses of different Metro departments. Following the first meeting, the Metro Council allocated $6.5 million of city funds to school safety enhancements, including radio communications upgrades and shatterresistant film for glass in school buildings. MNPS may receive more related funding through state grants, but must first go through an application process — a district spokesperson confirms plans to do so. The MNPD, however, will not apply for state grants to hire more school resource officers for elementary schools because the department doesn’t have the positions or the staffing levels to do so, though it is applying to receive state funds for SRO positions that already exist.

School resource officers — armed MNPD employees — have been placed in middle and high schools for years. The police department has noted its goal to put SROs in elementary schools, though MNPS has pushed back on that idea in the past. Rather than SROs, Metro schools will instead rely on safety ambassadors, or unarmed MNPS employees who will work with local law enforcement and MNPS’ security department to