REVISED Message from Mr. Mazur - 9/17/2014

[GW Town Crier]

(Please excuse the revision! I omitted the memo sent to staff.)

Dear GW parents and guardians,

I want to thank you for the endless support many have demonstrated towards the school, in both instances of celebration and moments which inspire critical reflection. On this note, I want to share an internal memo from me to the staff which was encouraged by the events of Tuesday the 16th of September.

I want to share this with you to reaffirm that your feedback and opinions matter as we look towards continuous improvement in all domains of the school. I also want to share my belief that how we respond to events is important, but equally as important is the internalization of our actions and the ongoing reflections. As a result of this, I want to share with you that many questions arose during this event that should be considered when we are in the grips of crisis or a perceived threat. Frankly, these are questions that I do not have the answer to. However, through collaborative efforts with the district I hope to be in a position to provide more clarity around this issue as we move ahead. These questions center on communication with parents and students during these events. For example, to what extent should we communicate during an event in which all the facts are not available? To what extent should we communicate during an event in which all the facts are available? How do we balance communication with students during events as we attempt to maintain a normal school day and ensure the safety of students and staff? What avenues do we use to leverage communication? These represent the crux of my thinking and the goals I have as we engage the district in critical dialogue.

Thank you again,

Memo to Staff:

Dear staff,

I want to thank you for your cooperation and attentiveness to the modified outside threat. You all performed very well. As you may or may not know, an individual was reportedly seen with a firearm near an ACPS grade school. As a result we were instructed to take the needed precautions to ensure that we were in a position to respond appropriately, in the interest of our safety.

When we are faced with these unforeseen challenges and respond immediately, I always like to reflect on the outcome, but more importantly how we, or I in this case, could have responded differently. In this instance, upon reflection, I wish I had communicated to the student body more clearly that we were in fact under a modified threat from the outside and explained that an individual in the community had behaved in such a way the we have to be prepared for a response to this threat. I believe this would have diminished the anxiety caused by the element of uncertainty.  So I will chalk this one up to a lesson learned and hope that next time I can render a better decision on the spot. Lastly, I hope your instructional afternoon was not too disrupted by the event.

Sincerely,

Jesse R. Mazur, Principal

George Washington Middle School