Connecticut Shooting On Wisconsin’s Minds

Friday’s school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut was on the forefront of students’, teachers’, and administrators’ minds across Wisconsin Monday.

Most children across Wisconsin had a typical school day. But many administrators cleared their days, setting aside time to meet with school leaders, revisit safety protocol, and reassure concerned parents.

Joe Gothard is the Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Schools with the Madison Metropolitan School District. He says teachers were prepared to respond to students’ unique concerns and questions. He says the district also provided extra support from counselors and social workers, “In a K-12 district as wide as ours, we could see a wide-range of emotions, from families who have shielded their children from the events over the weekend to those who sat down and really engaged with them.”

In La Crosse, School District Superintendent Randy Nelson visited a number of schools today. He says he noticed more parents than usual walking their kids into school, “I was in a school this morning and had good face-to-face eye contact with several of our parents and them walking their children into our schools. Other than that, I’d deem our day today as a pretty normal day.”

Some schools in Green Bay went on temporary lockdown Monday afternoon after a man with a knife was reported loose in the community. School district officials notified parents through email and phone, and assured them that the students were safe.