After 23 high school kids arrested for brawling at school, dads step in to provide security, jokes

| October 25, 2021

Check these guys out. See a problem, solve a problem. Breitbart reports on “Dads on Duty” helping to end violence at their kids’ school. 

Fathers in Shreveport, Louisiana, have begun taking shifts to supervise students at Southwood High School after 23 students were arrested for fighting over three days last month. Since the group Dads on Duty arrived on campus, the school has not had a single fight.

In September, Southwood High School saw a series of fights that led to the arrests of 23 students. On September 16 alone, multiple brawls led to the arrests of 14 students, KSLA reported.

“We had a fight at 9:30,” said Caddo Parish Sheriff Steve Prator, according to KSLA. “I believe that there were seven kids that were. I call them kids, that sounds innocent. Seven of these thugs were expelled or sent home.”

Later in the afternoon, another fight erupted that required the school’s resource officer to call for backup from at least nine deputies, KSLA reported.

Additional fights throughout the week led to the arrest of more students, bringing the total number of arrests to 23, CBS reported.

The brawls prompted local fathers to take action.

“We’re dads. We decided the best people who can take care of our kids are who? Are us,” Michael LaFitte, the man who started Dads on Duty, told CBS.

Dads on Duty is comprised of about 40 fathers who take shifts at the school, according to CBS. They greet students in the morning and carry an air of relaxed authority which helps to preserve a positive learning experience for students, the outlet reported. No fights have been reported on the campus since the dads arrived.

“I immediately felt a form of safety,” a student told CBS.

“We stopped fighting; people started going to class,” another student told the outlet.

While fights have stopped, the school has seen a significant uptick in dad jokes.

“They just make funny jokes like, ‘Oh, hey, your shoe is untied,’ but it’s really not untied,” a student told CBS.

“They hate it! They’re so embarrassed by it,” LaFitte told CBS after being asked about the dad jokes.

The Dads on Duty spoke to the importance of children having father figures in their lives.

“Because not everybody has a father figure at home – or a male, period, in their life. So just to be here makes a big difference,” they told CBS.

The fathers’ sentiments were echoed by the school’s principal, Dr. Kim Pendleton. “All they want to do is really to help us because there are a lot of kids that may or may not have a dad in their home, and so they want to be a positive influence on campus as well,” she told KTBS.

The group would like to continue to grow and begin chapters of Dads on Duty throughout the State of Louisiana, and eventually, throughout the United States, CBS reports.

Category: Bravo Zulu, Feel Good Stories, Schools

23 Comments
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5JC

I want to go on the record as being in favor of increased positive parenting of juveniles by parents. 90% of my job is dealing with parental failures.

Butcher Dave

This is great and all but when do the dads go to work?

Name edited to protect PII.
AW1

President Elect Toxic Deplorable Racist SAH Neanderthal B Woodman Domestic Violent Extremist SuperStraight

It sez they take shifts. SO, depending on how many dads there are in the school chapter, it may end up they they need to take only 1/2 day off per week.
Yes, it’s a pain, but in the end, it seems well worth the time, trouble, and effort…..just like parenting.

BRAVO! Well done, fathers! (THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE!!) (now if they can keep The Gooberment out of the way…….)

OWB

What a concept – parents parenting!

Good on these dads for stepping up. Great job. Amazing what can happen when positive influences are injected into schools. Give the kids some hope of a brighter future. Yep, good stuff.

KoB

No joke, Dads, you’re doing good work. BZ!

DocV

All of my children are grown. But, if the local school started something like this, I would sign up in a heartbeat.

A Proud Infidel®™

Ditto, not only is that a chance to help keep the peace, but make a positive influence on kids that need it!

Graybeard

Look for an Arise2Read program in your schools.

Or start one.

https://arise2read.org/

SFC D

It protects the kids AND keeps the school administration on notice. Dad is watching…

Graybeard

BZ to these real men, who are making a real difference in the lives of the youth in their community.

Ex-PH2

Geezo Pete, have the school principals been done away with? If this happened at my high school, those brats would have been suspended from class and made to clean blackboards and floors until they snapped out of it.

I guess I grew up in more civilized times.

rgr1480

Or get paddled! You all know “The Paddle”! About 2ft long, 8in wide with holes drilled in the contact surface to allow more speed. Oh … and a two-handed grip.

And if you got paddled more than two times, you got to sign the paddle.

Corporal punishment was still in vogue in 1969! At least at 71st Jr. High in Fayetteville, NC.

A Proud Infidel®™

We had it until the late 70’s in my neck of the woods, each Teacher had his or her own paddle and if you really blew it, the Principal had a big, meanassed looking oak paddle with holes in it hanging on his wall!

TopGoz

I recall the most popular thing to make in Wood Shop in Junior High was a paddle for a teacher who was knowledgeable in its proper use. The goal of every budding paddlesmith was to make the one that would hurt the worst if it was used on you.

Graybeard

More than two???? times????

Your standards were a lot lower than in my Jr. high woodshop class!!!

I think minimum to sign the paddle was 15 times.

Poetrooper

Well, young Poe only got the paddle with holes twice: From the football coach/principal who, by the way, had a damned good arm and a mean swing.

Brought quickly hidden tears to young Poe’s eyes.

But in the history of his small southern town, young Poe was probably the only president of the junior high student council who ever suffered that somewhat ignominious fate.

Considering the locale, the scandal was somewhat akin to Clinton getting BJ’s in the oval office…😁

Fjardeson

What a great idea!

ChipNASA

This is really, REALLY refreshing.
I’m *really* pleased seeing this response to this situation as opposed to the usual…really…

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Poetrooper

Ol’ Poe applauds the dads’ willingness to get involved but is wondering how this comports with the school district’s liability coverage should one of these dads get in the middle of a fight and injure one of the students.

Since the school authorities have apparently approved the concept, effectively deputizing the dads, they must have the necessary coverage. Louisiana has a Good Samaritan protection law but whether or not that would apply in this kind of situation isn’t clear.

Where’s our resident Ranger/Gunslinger/Lawer?

Sgt K

I hate that they had to do this but very thankful that they stepped up when they had to. And I hate to be a wet blanket but were these guys vetted? I really hope so.

5JC

It would be highly unusual in 2021 for them not to be. I couldn’t even assist with coaching my kid’s soccer team without a background check and I’m an active LEO.

Devtun

Former Stoneman Douglas HS SRO, Scot Peterson, is all in for this…until he hears bang! bang!

Carlton

The Dad jokes must have been awesome…

A Mormon addicted to soap is a lather-day saint.

The soloist shattered her kneecap and now she has to sing a patela.

I’ll see myself out.