CSBA Responds to Sandy Hook Shooting With Grief & Call To Action
December 17, 2012 – As the nation and the families of those tragically killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, mourn the loss of teachers and innocent youngsters, the California School Boards Association extended support to its sister association in Connecticut to share resources and expertise to help the school board members there as they address the broader issue of school safety.
“We are heartbroken, and while we cannot fathom the loss of innocent lives and the enormous amount of pain the families and communities are experiencing, we commit to sharing resources with our board member colleagues in Connecticut as they try to rebuild and recover from this senseless tragedy,” explained Cindy Marks, CSBA President.
“This act of violence is unconscionable. Even as our hearts are heavy for all those who lost children and loved ones at Sandy Hook, we are reminded that youth violence – in its many forms – whether it be verbal, physical, bullying and so on is unacceptable,” said Vernon M. Billy, CSBA Executive Director. While Billy affirmed that “the majority of our schools are safe, we nevertheless need to find solutions together to mitigate these types of tragedies from happening in the future. CSBA offers its heartfelt prayers and full support to the local school boards in Connecticut as they lead their communities through the healing process and onto solutions.” Echoing the same call to action made by President Obama at the Sandy Hook Vigil yesterday evening, Billy added, “Schools are the center of the community, and all stakeholders from law enforcement to the neighbors who live around school campuses need to work with us to ensure our schools remain safe havens for children. This tragedy is a call to action for all local communities across the country.”
CSBA’s School Safety Guide, related policy papers and webinars help school board leaders create policies that help to provide safe and secure learning environments for children. Safety procedures and protocols, as well as crisis simulations and ongoing training and emergency drills, help to ensure that school site staff and students remain composed and know what to do in crisis situations. “For the most part, schools do an excellent job keeping students safe and secure by training and preparing for crises. Yet, the events of last Friday make it painfully clear that we, as a nation, have more work to do to keep children safe from violence. We need to ask ourselves what we can learn from this tragedy so that it never happens again. How can local communities better support schools so that they can continue their invaluable mission without fear of armed gunmen on campus? This crisis illustrates the need for greater collaboration among all those who value public schools,” Marks added.
In the weeks and months ahead, the association will continue to provide governance resources to school districts to evaluate and hone their site safety plans and procedures.
CSBA is the non-profit education association representing the elected officials who govern public school districts and county offices of education. With a membership of nearly 1,000 educational agencies statewide, CSBA brings together school governing boards, and district and county office administrators to advocate for effective policies that advance the education and well-being of the state’s more than 6 million school-age children.