Beacon's Superintendent, Matthew Landahl, issued a statement the day after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Dear Beacon City School District Community:

The tragic school shooting in Parkland, Florida, on Wednesday of this week weighs heavily on us all. The morning after the shooting, I had the opportunity to walk my son to school for a special field trip that was leaving before the regular school day began. The 40-odd students and their parents gathered excitedly with teachers and staff to wait for the bus. Standing there watching over my son and talking with other parents, I would guess that not one of the students knew what happened the day before. I also felt that I knew what was in the back of each parent and staff member’s mind. As we stood there and waved goodbye to the bus, I reflected for a few moments on the beauty of being both an educator and a parent in times like this. The beauty lies in the fact that no matter what is happening in the world, our young people wake up ready for what’s next, expecting not only our best in terms of learning experiences but also that we do our best to keep them safe.

While I strongly believe that the Beacon City School District collectively takes safety seriously, I also believe that we should always strive to do better with this and everything we do. Yesterday, our building principals already began making some revisions to their Emergency Response Plans in light of what we are learning from Parkland. Our District Emergency Response Team, comprised of Beacon administrators and local law enforcement, is meeting on Wednesday, February 21, to review our plans and drill procedures, especially in light of what can be learned from the most recent events. Our entire district administrative team will meet on Thursday, February 22, to discuss any changes in our plans so we are all consistent in our implementation. While these building plans are not public documents, I will keep the community updated throughout the remainder of this year on our efforts to keep us all safe. As always, thanks for your support.

Sincerely,
Matt Landahl
Superintendent

See all updates from the Superintendent here.