Statement from Santa Fe ISD Superintendent Dr. Leigh Wall

 

SANTA FE, TX -- (Press Release) Today, our community suffered a terrible tragedy at Santa Fe High School.  Words cannot express the sorrow in our hearts for those we have lost. As I write this message, our campus remains an active crime scene with law enforcement personnel from throughout our region supporting Santa Fe ISD Police Chief, Walter Braun.

Like you, I have many questions about this horrific event.  Those answers will come in time as this methodical, thorough investigation moves forward.  You have my word that you will remain informed and involved as we cope with this event together as a family.  

In the meantime, the Santa Fe community will pull together to support our friends, neighbors and loved ones who are suffering.  This is a time for prayer and a time to rely on the deep bonds that have always held our special community together.

We have received an outpouring of offers of support from our neighbors locally, statewide and nationally.  I want you to know that we will gladly accept every resource that will help our students on what promises to be a long road to recovery.  Your children’s needs -- emotionally, spiritually and physically -- will be met by those who are best equipped to do so.

This is only the first of many messages you will receive from me as our team seeks to keep you informed.  Today is a day to begin mourning those we have lost and nursing those who are hurt. We are in this together.   

 

Statement from the San Angelo Independent School District

In light of the national tragedy that took place in our own state today, we extend our heartfelt condolences to all those impacted by the events in the Houston area at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe ISD. As we increase security measures, San Angelo ISD has recently added a position to oversee campus operations and safe environments. We have many proactive measures in place regarding student and staff safety.

SAISD follows guidelines from the Texas State School Safety Center in determining safety procedures and protocols. The district has an emergency plan in place which includes a campus crisis team. We conduct regularly scheduled safety meetings and drills at the campus and district levels. Staff and administration actively monitor campuses. Upgraded and additional security cameras also support monitoring of campuses and parking lots. The district partners with San Angelo Police Department and the Tom Green County Sheriff's Department to provide an additional layer of monitoring to support school personnel in addressing school safety concerns.

Also, we are partnering with first responders to provide campus staff with specific safety and security training related to these recent tragedies.

Our parents play a vital role in the safety and security of our students and in preventing tragedies. We encourage parents to have open communication with their children, including any concerns regarding social media, and to share any concerns with campus personnel. We also ask parents to ensure students understand that even joking about school violence leads to an immediate and swift investigation of the threat when campus and/or district leaders become aware of such conversations.

Across the nation, schools are working with their communities to provide safe learning environments. SAISD continues to value the parent and community partnerships in making our schools safe for students and staff. Safety is our top priority.

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Prayers go out for those affected... As these things happen more and more frequently, I urge people to count the cost of sending your child to public school instead of homeschooling...

There is legally, no room left for God in school. Even if your child never gets harmed or bullied, is it worth indoctrinating them with shoddy theories and redacted versions of history? Seriously, how much are folks truly involved in the lives of their children outside of their home life anymore? Most parents have no clue what's going on with their kids at school. I don't say these things to belittle those who have kids in school, I say them because now is the time to take an honest inventory in our lives and present culture.

Will the extra money from having both parents working be worth the cost of not homeschooling if something happens? Call it what you want, just make sure that you weigh the pro's and con's and seek the Lord's guidance as we head onward in the journey of life.

I've heard the arguments against homeschool, most of them pertain to finances for parents and teachers... We're talking about the lives of our children in a place where even a well meaning teacher can't share their faith in God by law...

Our kids can't have a prayer time and they get taught versions of history that are redacted and give no account of the influence of God in the building of our nation... We teach kids that they evolved from apes. These are the things that we need to pay attention to as parents, it's not O.K. to just coast along in our lives, avoiding the difficult parts anymore.

Is our comfort worth damaged lives? Jesus talked about counting the cost of following Him numerous times... God will forgive us for turning our backs on Him and looking for comfort in the world rather than not being of it, but we as a nation need to turn from the things that got us here. Godlessness, selfishness, and government reliance.

Its heart wrenching to hear the stories from these kids. My hope is that they over come and live productive lives.

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