Dear Syracuse City School District Families

Dear Syracuse City School District Families,

I wanted to reach out to the Syracuse school community in the aftermath of the horrific tragedy that occurred in Connecticut on Friday. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Newtown community.

I want to assure you that keeping our students and staff safe is our top priority. We have multiple security measures in place to keep our schools safe places. Our schools utilize a single point of entry and we have standardized photo identification cards for all staff ensuring electronic access control in our buildings. We work closely with the City of Syracuse police department and the New York State police. In the event of a crisis we have lockdown procedures in place and the capability for district-wide radio communication at our schools.

Some children need to talk about a traumatic experience while others don't want to talk at all. This is normal. While it is important not to force children to talk about troubling incidences, it is also critical for parents to let them know they're willing to listen.

We understand that some of our students may be impacted by what is being reported on the news. Our schools are ready to help these children deal with this situation. Every school has a crisis team that will be available on Monday morning to assist students who are struggling in dealing with the Connecticut tragedy.

We will continue to ensure that our schools remain safe teaching and learning environments.

In the Interest of All Children,

Superintendent Sharon Contreras