Tragedy: Reaching Out to Parents

After the events that unfolded on Friday in Connecticut, those of us in leadership positions within the world of education must maintain an open line of communication between school and home. This communication is key to ensuring that our children feel safe and secure in school and that they know their parents and teachers are in constant communication. Below is an excerpt from an email that I sent to parents this morning in preparation for tomorrow morning and the children returning to school.

Good morning! We hope this email finds you all doing well on this Sunday morning. We can imagine that it has been a difficult weekend for all of us in light of the events that unfolded on Friday in Newton, CT at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. Although we are all aware of the lives lost in this unfathomable tragedy, we should also try and find hope and strength in the stories about the heroes in the community during this difficult time – the teachers who protected the lives of the other 580 students and 70 or so staff members in that building so that they were able to escape; the emergency responders who risked their lives to save as many people as possible; and the neighbors who came together as a community in Newtown to help sustain each other and begin the healing process.

In this time of devastation, there are also the glimmers of hope, strength and perseverance. It is with these characteristics that we will greet the children tomorrow morning as they come back to Cantiague. We will maintain normalcy, lead the day with strength and offer the children support and hope as they need it. We will try and keep the discussions at a minimum about the tragedy in CT in the hopes that many parents have already spoken to their children about this event. In case anyone feels they need more ideas on how to discuss the tragedy, we have amassed some additional websites that offer suggestions, tips and ideas for speaking with children…

http://www.diigo.com/list/cantiague_lead/dealing-with-tragedy

We wish you all a wonderful rest of the weekend and please know that our main priority each and every day at Cantiague is to keep the children safe, happy and feeling secure. Please feel free to email us if you have any questions or concerns.

Feel free to use any or all of this email for communication with your parents. Strong and constant communication between home and school is paramount in any successful learning community.