DA Leone Sends School Safety Letter to Local Superintendents

Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone has issued the following letter to Middlesex County School Superintendents. The District Attorney’s office, along with its non-profit partner, Middlesex Partnerships for Youth, has been leading efforts and programs on school safety, mental health, teen substance abuse, violence prevention, among others, according to a public statement.

The DA’s office said it “will be adding to these programs as needed in light of the Newtown school shooting as well as working closely with all districts in Middlesex County to address any concerns they may have.”

The following letter was sent to local school superintendents:

Superintendents,

As you returned to school this week with heavy hearts, please be assured that as Middlesex District Attorney, I continue to be your advocate and resource for keeping our students, teachers, staff and schools safe. Unfortunately, the extreme acts of violence at Sandy Hook Elementary School has once again shaken us to our core and forced us all to question the safety, security and wellbeing of our children while at school. I want to reiterate strongly what you all know from our partnerships together – that the MDAO, MPY staff and I continue to be here for and with you in any way that we can, working together to keep our kids safe and well.

The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and our non-profit partner Middlesex Partnerships for Youth remain committed to preventing any incident of violence within our schools, by continuing to create, develop and share creative, innovative intervention and prevention based education, training and programming. This front-end collaborative approach that we practice together is vital to ensuring that all students feel safe and are safe at school; that educators have the information, tools and ability to do their jobs effectively; and that parents can expect that when their children leave them in the morning for school, they will return safe and sound.

Our 17th Annual School Safety Summit, in which all of your districts participated, touched on many of the issues educators face in providing a safe place for students and safe workplace for staff. “Psychological Safety and Physical Safety: Bridging the Gap” brought Dr. Scott Poland, a national expert on school safety, to Middlesex County, providing state of the art information about improving school safety planning and mental health issues impacting students. Poland stressed the importance of having a fair and effective system to respond to reports of violence or alleged plans no matter how trivial the information may seem.

As MPY members, we urge you to continue to take advantage of the unique training and programs that are offered and in which you are entitled, including topics on school safety, mental health, substance abuse, and many more relevant issues. Currently we are planning our full spring list of conferences, including our mental health series. A tentative schedule is attached, as well as a review of our past programs that have addressed issues of school safety. A full schedule of these programs will be featured in the upcoming MPY Spring 2013 Newsletter, which you will be receiving shortly.

As we’ve highlighted in this year’s school-based initiative entitled “Speak Up – Your Voice Matters,” the greatest protection for schools is establishing an open, strong relationship with students so they are comfortable reporting a threat to an adult. These relationships which have been formed and developed through our Community Based Justice program open the door for information to be shared with Threat Assessment Teams. Information sharing and creating an open dialogue among every level in your district are among the ways we can work together toward preventing such horrific crimes from occurring. This school-based initiative explores not only how to impress upon students the power of their own voices and their own role in preventing violence, abuse and bullying; but it also explores the responsibility placed on schools to cultivate a school culture that allows for such open communication to take place.

We know that despite our best efforts in planning, preparation and communication, tragedies and purely evil violent acts can still occur in an open and free society. Therefore, no schools are immune to violence. Our best approach going forward is to continue to work collaboratively, sharing best practices in minimizing risk, and continuing to develop our web of relationships and supportive programs for and with each other. Our schools in Middlesex are and continue to be very safe places for our children to be every single day, despite the horrific events at Sandy Hook Elementary School .

As we discussed just last month together at the statewide MASS/MASC joint conference, we share a vital mission – keeping all students safe, healthy, and well. It is my primary focus as your District Attorney to achieve this critical goal. Please contact myself or Margie Daniels , Executive Director of Middlesex Partnerships for Youth, Inc., if we are able to assist you in any way, and please continue to take advantage of our programs and educational training.

Sincerely,

Gerard T. Leone, Jr.
Middlesex District Attorney