Port Chester Schools: Talk to Your Children About Newtown Shooting Tragedy

Port Chester school officials are encouraging parents today to talk with their children about today's deadly incident at a school in Newtown, CT.

Schools Superintendent Edward A. Kliszus said that the district's professional staff is also available to speak with children about the tragedy, in which 20 children and six adults were slain at Sandy Hook Elementary School by a gunman who was also killed.

Kliszus sent a note today to parents about the incident, expressing the district's sorrow over the tragedy and reassuring parents that their children are safe in Port Chester public schools.

As I'm sure you're all aware, today there was a tragic school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Our thoughts are with the families, staff and children who experienced this horrible series of events. 

We want to reach out to our Port Chester community to encourage you talk to your children about what has happened in Newtown in a way that you most feel comfortable. Our professional staff is available to students who would like to speak with them about this tragedy.

We also want to reassure you that your children are safe at our schools. We work closely with law enforcement to ensure that our safety procedures meet the highest standards and work to ensure that we have safety procedures in place to protect your children and our staff. We will continue to run our lock down and evacuation drills regularly. 

We also remind you to observe our school security rules. Doors are to remain locked and only authorized individuals will be permitted to enter our schools. All visitors must report immediately to the school office and sign in. Visits are limited to appointments only. Unauthorized individuals are not permitted to roam our buildings. We also ask that if you see suspicious persons near our schools that you contact law enforcement immediately.

Kliszus said this afternoon that he will be meeting with law enforcement officials next week to debrief about the Newtown shooting and discuss any recommendations they might have to bolster Port Chester school security procedures.

Today, Port Chester Police Chief Joseph Krzeminski ordered village police officers to go to each of Port Chester's elementary schools as a precaution. Krzeminski said he wanted to take action to reassure parents and the community that local schools and children would be safe.

Krzeminski said there were no threats or perceived dangers for local schools in connection with today's deadly incident in Newtown.