Elementary students march for safe schools in Oakland

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Chanting elementary school students walked out of class Tuesday at Joaquin Miller Elementary School in Oakland in an organized march for safety the day before a nationwide March will mark the one month anniversary since the Parkland Florida shooting.

One sign read "Arm us with books NOT weapons."

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Second-grader Isabel Brasil-Strang said, "Everybody deserves a safe school and they need to learn and some people don't have access to a safe school." Her teacher, Shelby Ziesing, beamed with pride.

She was inspired to organize this school march on campus after students asked questions about why they were having a lockdown drill. They talked about the Florida shooting. They talked about the need for students to feel safe.

Principal Sara Green said, "With what's been happening we wanted to give students a lesson in how education is a civil right. Safe schools should be a civil right for all of our students."

Students nationwide are planning a mass walk-out at 10 a.m. local time on Wednesday. It will last for 17 minutes to honor the 17 who died in Florida. Oakland unified school district says they will support students' right to participate as long as they stay on campus. They're setting up assembly areas with microphones at various schools.

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Second grader Camryn Smart realized their march Tuesday could make a difference. She said, "People are going to see this on the news and they're going to think about it and they're going to realize safe schools are important."

Thanks to all of who have reached out to ABC7 News about events at your schools. Please share your experiences with us on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook by tagging them #WalkoutBayArea so we can feature them on TV or online.

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