Saturday, January 12, 2013
Holly Ryan, a school psychologist at Lakeville's Kenwood Trail Middle School, flew to her hometown of Newtown, CT, along with a service dog, to help victims of the tragedy cope.
Follow Inver Grove Heights Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our free newsletter For Holly Ryan, Dec. 14, 2012, was a typical, busy Friday. It wasn't until later that she learned half a country away, her hometown of Newtown, CT, had become the site of the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. Ryan, 40, a school psychologist at Lakeville's Kenwood Trail Middle School, says text messages from her mother and sister first alerted her to the tragedy that unfolded. "I think the events are still unimaginable in their entirety," Ryan said. "There are just so many personal accounts—families directly and indirectly affected—it's overwhelming." Ryan grew up in Newtown. She lived there until she was 20, she said. And …
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Sen. Al Franken met Monday with counselors, safety experts and ISD 196 administrators at Dakota Hills Middle School.
Follow Inver Grove Heights Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our free newsletter Sen. Al Franken went to Eagan’s Dakota Hills Middle School Monday afternoon to discuss school safety protocols with counselors, safety experts and ISD 196 administrators in the wake of last month’s Newtown shootings. Franken repeatedly emphasized the importance of early treatment of mental illness and also spoke about lockdown drills and perimeter security in remarks to reporters after the meeting. “You [need to] catch this kind of mental illness early, treat it, so it doesn’t grow into something where you have somebody who becomes a shooter,” he said. ISD 196 superintendent Jane Berenz; the district’s safety director, Mark Parr; and Dakota …
Friday, December 21, 2012
"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," LaPierre said.
Follow Inver Grove Heights Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our free newsletter In an amazing Friday morning press conference in Washington DC, the National Rifle Association broke its weeklong silence following the horrific shooting of 26 people at a school in Newtown, CT and called for a surge of gun-carrying "good guys" around American schools. NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre called for a new kind of American domestic security revolving around armed civilians, arguing that "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." "We care about our president, so we protect him with armed Secret Service agents," LaPierre said. "Members of Congress work in offices surrounded by Capitol …
Monday, December 17, 2012
Wells: “It is our intention to assure our students and our staff that we will do whatever we can in our environments so that in the end each child will be given the opportunity to reach their full potential.”
- POLICE & FIRE
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Monday, December 17, 2012
Follow Inver Grove Heights Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our free newsletter Editor’s Note: The following is a letter to Inver Grove Heights community members from Superintendent Deirdre Wells. The letter, dated Dec. 17, appears on the Inver Grove Heights Schools’ website. Dear Community Members, Today we are faced with a senseless act of violence. I would like to offer my deepest condolences to those in Connecticut. My heart goes out to the families and loved ones as they deal with this difficult situation in the coming days, weeks, and months. It is unspeakable moments like this that bring fear and many questions regarding school safety from not only students, parents and community, but staff as well. We here at …
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Inver Grove Heights schools are required to have five lockdown drills per year to prevent violent incidents.
A third student died today, after the school shooting in Chardon, OH, that shocked the nation yesterday. After a rash of similar incidents over the past years, school districts across the U.S. have put in place dedicated safety policies. Inver Grove Heights is no different. Much to Simley High School Principal Jerry Sakala’s relief, our community has never experienced anything like what happened in Ohio yesterday. “Obviously we’re concerned and our thoughts are with them,” he said, “But that’s something that we have been lucky enough to avoid. I think every school principal in the state would feel the same way.” But while hoping for the best, the school district is doing the prudent thing, and preparing for the worst. The district has a …
yomammy
1:44 pm on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
I am glad he discussed his mental illness. you plan on "essentaily" banning freedom of speech too? just a little bit....for now... more ›