A group of fathers in Shreveport, Louisiana, say they have the momentum to take their group “Dads on Duty” national after their supervision at a local high school ended frequent fights and their CBS News story went viral.
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The group of about 40 dads began supervising at Southwood High School in Shreveport after 23 students were arrested for fighting over a three-day period in September, CBS reported. Since the dads showed up on campus, the fighting stopped, but the dad jokes began.
“We’re dads. We decided the best people who can take care of our kids are who? Are us,” Michael LaFitte, who started Dads on Duty, told CBS News in his initial interview.
CBS News says the story is the most shared CBS piece on Facebook this year and has racked up 50 million social media views since it was published, according to the outlet.
“This is crazy!” LaFitte told CBS News in his latest interview.” “Nothing is the same … in a good way.”
Prominent figures on both the right and left of the political spectrum have shown their support for the “Dads on Duty” movement.
Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) shared the story to his Facebook and wrote, “Dads on Duty show up in Shreveport to make school safer and happier—absolutely outstanding!”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) shared a CBS Evening News tweet of the story with the caption, “More of this.”
Will Smith posted the video to his Instagram account with the caption, “This is fantastic!! #dadsonduty.”
Actress and left-wing activist Susan Sarandon tweeted, “Thank you Dads for helping your community. Brilliant.”
“Kudos to these good guys,” tweeted Ava Duvernay, director of the new Colin Kaepernick biographical series Colin in Black & White.
The fathers say they have the momentum to take the movement nationally and school districts across the country have been inquiring about the group, according to CBS News.
“No matter what side of the political end that you’re on, we all have a love for children,” LaFitte told CBS News. “We all have a love for doing what’s right.”