Español

Dear WCCUSD Community:

Student relationships and connectedness to school are extremely important to establishing safe and supportive school environments. We know that students are just as affected as adults by traumatic national and local events. Some young people are affected even more, even if no one realizes it. As a District, we want to acknowledge the recent uptick of school pranks, including pranks regarding possible school violence and school shootings. We also want to acknowledge that there have been many unknowns during the last two years which have had great impacts on our young people and great community. We know that students may have many feelings; including feelings of fear, anxiety, and sadness. We want to ensure that all of our students know that space is available at school to process these feelings and to be heard and validated.

Currently, we are:

• Re-examining our school crisis team structure to ensure that our crisis response is collaborative and involves our greater community. 
• Gathering information from sites regarding the crisis response systems to better understand the needs of our students and community. 
• Working with secondary executive directors and site leaders to identify dates for parent, student, and community forums regarding school climate and safety.
• Working with school sites to ensure that school sites re-teach safety expectations on campus and re-identify supports on campus available to students.
• Working with community partners to establish support systems for students in and out of school.

In the interim, if any student needs additional support to process recent events and/or needs an adult to check in with, we ask that you contact your school administrative team. If support is not available on campus, we will ensure that support is provided to school sites. We are committed to working together to create a positive school climate.

Sincerely, 

Dr. Kenneth Chris Hurst
Superintendent