Royal Oak Superintendent Responds to Newtown School Shooting

In the wake of today's – which has left nearly 30 people dead, including 20 young children – the Royal Oak superintendent of schools offers his thoughts on how to process such events with children.

Royal Oak School District Superintendent Shawn Lewis-Lakin sent the following message to parents Friday afternoon:

Dear Royal Oak Families:

Our hearts break as we watch news reports of the unspeakable tragedy that occurred earlier today, Friday, December 14, in Connecticut. While this event has occurred at a distance from us, we are all impacted by it.

As a district, we have protocols in place to protect all persons in our schools. These protocols are reviewed regularly, and will be reviewed again as we learn more about what occurred in Connecticut. Safety-related improvements are the priority among the projects we will complete this summer with sinking fund revenue. In all that we do, safety is our number one priority. 

Tragedies like the one that occurred today in Connecticut are difficult for any of us to understand.   The challenge such events can pose to children (whether they be five years old or 18 years old) is great. I asked our social work staff to provide me some key points for parents on how to process such events with children. These are their suggestions:

• Limit your child’s access to media coverage related to the incident.
• Carefully listen for questions or fears children might have about the incident and be willing to have discussions with them about their anxiety.
• Be prepared to correct any misinformation that they might have received from peers or other adults.  (This incident was not a random shooter who walked in off the street.)
• Stress the uniqueness of the situation and how infrequently school shootings occur.
• Remind your child that their schools safety plans and are safe places.  

Information available from the American Psychological Association that is available by clicking here may also be helpful to you.  

Sincerely,

Shawn Lewis-Lakin, Superintendent of Schools

Details are still emerging about the incident, which many are calling the worst school shooting in U.S. history. According to Newtown Patch, the male gunman, a New Jersey resident in his 20s, "deliberately went to Sandy Hook Elementary School with the intention of killing his mother, who was a kindergarten teacher at the school."

He opened fire inside the school, killing 20 children and 6 adults, including his mother and the school's principal. The gunman was killed, though police are not yet saying how he died.

For more coverage of the shooting, visit Newtown Patch.