Superintendent Letter to the Community

Dear BKW community,

The incidents of school shootings in our nation is beyond comprehension, and undermines our very sense of security in our own schools. None of us can answer all of the questions about how these things happen, or why they happen, but we can collectively and continually assess and learn, in order to take proactive steps locally.

To that end, Sherriff Apple asked his staff to reach out to their component school districts. I spoke with the Sherriff’s Office this morning. We have had a strong working relationship with local law enforcement related to conducting our mandated crisis drills. I assure you we will continue in that partnership, especially in the coming weeks. We will also review emergency procedures with staff and students. Obviously, the goal is to keep everyone in our schools as safe as possible, regardless of circumstances.

In communicating with staff today, even as we all try to make sense of the senselessness, I conveyed the idea that our small community allows us to personalize and individualize experiences for students, so that each student is known well by at least one adult. We are all vested in the healthy growth of each student. Practicing kindness, modeling politeness, listening carefully and strengthening relationships are the foundation of prevention of these kinds of events from ever happening. More importantly, they also serve to ensure that students feel connected and have places to go in order to sort out issues. This morning I met with Dr. Kristin Mack. In the coming weeks we will be working in partnership with Dr. Mack’s office to proactively provide students with information about issues like drug abuse, the opioid crisis, mental health, and violence prevention. We will also continue our efforts to secure additional counseling services for students.

Additionally, you may find this link helpful in talking with your children about troubling news.

Once again, as we take control of those efforts over which we have control, we can have a positive effect on a day to day basis. Raising children that are happy, healthy, safe and educated is something we can all get behind.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Dr. Timothy Mundell
Superintendent of Schools