ANN ARBOR – Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent Jeanice Swift sent an email to the school community on Wednesday, sharing her reaction to the shooting in an Uvalde, Texas, elementary school on Tuesday that left 19 children and two adults dead.
“We are all impacted by the horrific events that took place yesterday at Robb Elementary School and tragically took the lives of our youngest and most precious students and their teachers inside a school classroom,” wrote Swift. “Details of the horrific tragedy will continue to unfold, and they will bring more questions, worries, anxieties and anger for all of us.
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“No words, condolences, moments of silence or other gestures will make this better.”
Swift took the opportunity to reiterate the AAPS safety plan, sharing that she had been in touch on Wednesday morning with Ann Arbor Police Chief Michael Cox.
“In the AAPS, our ongoing safety measures and training are well defined and systemic, and we continue to strengthen our district safety and security measures, including: The AAPS operates an ALICE district,” Swift wrote. “In partnership with local law enforcement, AAPS has trained staff in intruder response.”
Swift said that all perimeter doors at Ann Arbor Public Schools are secured during school hours. She said the district carefully screens visitors and works in close partnership with local law enforcement, including the Ann Arbor Police, Washtenaw County Sheriff, University of Michigan Public Safety and Pittsfield Township Public Safety.
She said school staff will continue to “show love and lend a listening ear to children” as the community comes to terms with news of tragic events.
“There will be time following today to deepen our resolve and take elevated action in our collective and continued fight to prioritize school safety in Michigan and across this country; the Ann Arbor Public Schools has led in that effort over the previous decade, and I promise that we will never rest or give up in that critical struggle,” she wrote.
Below is Swift’s full letter to the community:
Hello AAPS Community,
Today, we struggle again, only a week following the Buffalo supermarket and the southern California church tragedies, to understand more lives lost in another gun massacre yesterday, this time in Uvalde, Texas.
We are all impacted by the horrific events that took place yesterday at Robb Elementary School and tragically took the lives of our youngest and most precious students and their teachers inside a school classroom. Details of the horrific tragedy will continue to unfold, and they will bring more questions, worries, anxieties and anger for all of us.
No words, condolences, moments of silence or other gestures will make this better.
In the Ann Arbor Public Schools, the security and safety of students and staff continue as our number one priority, even before our critical mission of teaching and learning. This morning, I have been in direct contact with Ann Arbor Chief of Police Michael Cox, and today we will reinforce and remind all in our school communities of our safety protocols and that we, as a community, will continue to work to vigilantly follow them together.
In the AAPS, our ongoing safety measures and training are well defined and systemic, and we continue to strengthen our district safety and security measures, including:
The AAPS operates an ALICE district. In partnership with local law enforcement, AAPS has trained staff in intruder response. Other security measures include securing perimeter school doors across all our schools during the school day, implementing a common threat assessment tool, carefully screening visitors to campuses and maintaining a strong partnership with local law enforcement, including the Ann Arbor Police, Pittsfield Township Public Safety, Washtenaw County Sheriff and the University of Michigan Public Safety. AAPS regularly works with these law enforcement entities to plan and practice response protocols to strengthen our campuses.
As always, in caring for our students, we will show love and lend a listening ear to children, to each other and to our families today, tomorrow and beyond, as we have done far too many times before. We will continue to deepen our care and developmentally appropriate support of our children and of each other while we also ensure the much-needed rhythm and regularity of our upcoming school days.
There will be time following today to deepen our resolve and take elevated action in our collective and continued fight to prioritize school safety in Michigan and across this country; the Ann Arbor Public Schools has led in that effort over the previous decade, and I promise that we will never rest or give up in that critical struggle.
Yet, for this tragic and heartbreaking day, it is a priority that you know first that we will remain vigilant to strengthen our well-defined safety and security measures in close contact with law enforcement; we will care for and focus on our students; we will connect and support each other, our parents and families, and our beloved Ann Arbor community.
Take Care,
Jeanice K. Swift
Superintendent of Schools
Ann Arbor Public Schools