A Marin County couple whose 7-year-old son was killed by a collapsing school gate in 2019 has expanded their safety advocacy into a national campaign asking every K-12 school in the country to conduct regular hazard assessments.

Dayna and Eric Quanbeck launched the "Every School Assessed" campaign on Monday, July 13, through their nonprofit Ready, Set, Safe! The initiative includes a free online toolkit at readysetsafe.org/schooltoolkit that gives parents and school administrators a campus walk-through checklist, a customizable letter to send to school leaders, frequently asked questions, and guidance on how to start safety conversations with educators.

"Our work to improve gate safety continues, but we've learned that gates are only one example of the hidden hazards that can exist where children learn and play," Eric Quanbeck said. "Regular, comprehensive school safety assessments help identify risks before someone gets hurt. That's the kind of prevention every child deserves."

The Quanbecks founded Ready, Set, Safe!, a registered 501(c)(3) formerly known as The Hummingbird Alliance, after their son Alex, a first-grader, was fatally injured when a heavy, unsecured chain-link gate fell on him during recess at a Marin County school. Their advocacy since 2019 helped produce new gate safety requirements set to be incorporated into the 2027 International Building Code.

The new campaign goes broader than gates. According to Ready, Set, Safe!, more than 55 million children attend nearly 130,000 K-12 schools nationwide, yet the organization says no consistent national standard requires schools to conduct comprehensive safety assessments or track student injuries. Ready, Set, Safe! cited American Academy of Pediatrics research estimating that 10 to 25 percent of childhood injuries occur at school.

For Southern Marin families sending children to schools in Mill Valley, Corte Madera, Larkspur, and Tiburon, the toolkit is free and available at readysetsafe.org/schooltoolkit. Parents can download the checklist, print it, and use it to walk their own child's campus.

Executive Director Samantha Lasky said the goal is to make comprehensive safety assessments "the expectation, not the exception" for schools across the country.