School districts nationwide respond to Newtown shooting
With 20 children and seven adults confirmed dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., school officials around the United States sent parents and teachers a message of safety.
Though some school districts had yet to articulate formal, public responses in the hours following the shooting which killed at least 20 children and six adults, officials at schools around the United States were offering one reassurance to parents: We won’t let this happen here.
New York city school chancellor Dennis Walcott said in a letter released late on Friday that he was in constant communication with the New York Police Department and its school safety division.
“I encourage you to guide your staff and students in maintaining your school’s regular schedule and continuing to be sensitive to the needs of your students as they learn more about this loss,” he said in the letter addressed to colleagues.
Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the CEO of Chicago Public Schools, issued a statement on the organization’s Facebook page, saying, “The safety and protection of our students is of the utmost importance to our school principals, teachers, staff and administrators and is a responsibility the District takes seriously.”
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