IUSD Superintendent Terry Walker has issued the following statement on today's tragic events in Newtown, Conn.:
As you may have learned, an unspeakable tragedy occurred this morning at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.
Our district continues to monitor developments out of Newtown, and our thoughts and prayers are with the students, parents and staff of Sandy Hook Elementary School who face a grief that is unimaginable. At the same time, our sites will continue to follow their existing school safety procedures with the support of the Irvine Police Department. Above all, we will be working hard in these next few emotional days to ensure our students feel safe, protected and ready to learn.
Our schools and our district have strong emergency plans in place, and we consistently practice and refine our procedures for events that we hope will never happen. We are also extraordinarily fortunate to work with the Irvine Police Department, which helped develop our proactive crisis response protocols and regularly collaborates with our schools. IPD leaders have already been in contact to answer questions and to offer their support.
In the days and weeks ahead, we will gather more information to determine what, if any, lessons can be learned from this senseless tragedy. In the meantime, our hearts go out to the Sandy Hook community.