From the Schools: Farmington Monitoring Security, Offering Help to Newtown

Dear Parents and Families,

I am writing to you to provide updated information on how we will be supporting students in the aftermath of the Newtown tragedy. As shared with you in my communication on Friday, we anticipate that students may need support as they returned to school on Monday and in the coming days. I want to provide a brief summary of what will occur across Farmington schools tomorrow.

• Following a moment of silence, teachers will give students the opportunity to express feelings or ask questions.
• For students who need more time to talk, social workers, psychologists and guidance counselors will be available to meet with students.
• Teachers are encouraged to return to a sense of normalcy by following a regular schedule and routine.
• Teachers are asked to carefully watch for changes in their students affect and demeanor. Once again, social workers, psychologists and guidance counselors were available to meet with students who were encountering difficulties.

If your child is expressing fears about the tragic incident that occurred last week, please reach out to school administration, your child’s teacher, social worker or guidance counselor. We want to be proactive in providing support to our students.

I want you to know that the Superintendent’s office and school Principals work in collaboration with our Police Department to review security and safety measures in place through emergency practice drills, annual reviews and when new information is received from law enforcement agencies. These processes allow us to develop, review and revise safety procedures immediately as needed. The security systems and procedures in our schools today are based upon a safety review completed by external security professionals in conjunction with the Farmington Police Department. Security and safety is our highest priority and an area of ongoing review and revision. We are always in close communication with our Chief of Police as new information is provided to his department through state and federal law enforcement agencies. Please know that, additionally, a review in our school district will take place shortly as new information becomes available to law enforcement in the aftermath of the Newtown tragedy. Farmington Police will continue to be visible in the coming days around school zones in an effort to support our school district community.

We have many connections to the Newtown community. They are our colleagues, family and friends. Our high school athletes regularly meet Newtown athletes on our athletic fields. I have reached out to the Newtown Superintendent to offer support of Farmington faculty and staff. Our Athletic Director, Jack Phelan has reached out to the Newtown Athletic Director to see how our athletes can support the athletes in Newtown. This support will continue to be needed in the coming days and weeks and we will continue to offer our support. We will provide information on how individuals can support the Newtown schools in the coming days.

Please reach out to school administration, your child’s teacher, social worker or guidance counselor if you have any questions or concerns. Materials on how to talk to your child are found on the front page of our website www.fpsct.org. Please know that we are here to support your child(ren) and we will continue to provide support in the coming days and weeks.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Greider

Superintendent of Schools