From the Desk of the Superintendent
Superintendent Deborah A. Flores, Ph.D.
March 12, 2001
Dear Students:
On Monday, March 5, there was a shooting on a high school campus in Santee, California. A troubled student took a gun to school and killed two of his classmates and injured 13 others. There is some evidence that, prior to the attack, he talked with others about what he was going to do. In fact, in most of the school shootings that have taken place over the past few years, there is evidence that some people knew of strange and troubling behavior of the student(s) prior to the shootings. Some had even heard the student(s) discuss their plans.
Safe schools are the responsibility of every student and every staff member. There are several things you can and should do to prevent someone being injured or harmed:
- Talk to a teacher, counselor, administrator or other trusted adult if you are aware that someone is talking about, writing about, or drawing images of destruction or plans to hurt another student or group of students.
- Report any threats of violence or suicide, or the presence of a gun or any other weapon.
- Report your concerns when you see another student being teased or bullied. There is no room in our schools for harassment.
You may not be certain if your concerns are well founded, but you should still talk to a school official or other adult that you trust. School officials will keep your report confidential. They will investigate your concerns while maintaining respect, and getting help, for the student(s) involved. When you bring your concerns to an adult, you are helping the person who is hurting inside and you are helping yourself and your friends stay safe. That’s what a true friend does to protect the people he or she cares about.
You have the right and responsibility to report your concerns, even when that person says, "...I’m only joking." Threats involving the safety of our students and staff are NOT jokes.
We are setting up a confidential 24-hour HelpLine so that you will always have a way to talk about what you may have seen or heard. It takes all of us working together to make sure that what has happened in other communities does not happen here.
Although we believe that your school is very safe, we need to be prepared to deal with crisis situations. We have plans for dealing with different kinds of emergencies. Your teacher will now discuss with you our plan for dealing with a situation such as the recent school shootings. This is not done to alarm you, but to assure you that we are all committed to your safety, which includes being prepared.
Thank you for your help on this very important matter.
Sincerely,
Deborah A. Flores, Ph.D.
Superintendent