I want to take a moment and thank you for trusting us with your child’s educational needs. We are honored and proud to work with you and your children daily, and we are thankful for all that you do for our students and staff. Education can only work if we do it together.
We are Gilbert Public Schools and children and education are what we are about. Your children’s safety is our major priority and like you, I worry about them, whether they are on our school property or out in our community. As you are most likely aware, recently, a high school student from J.O. Combs, Preston Lord, was at a party and was beaten and died from the injuries. This tragedy has impacted the lives of so many across the entire East Valley. We are saddened about what happened to him and our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to his family and friends. I bring up what happened to Preston because we don’t want this happening to anyone else ever again. Violence in our community or our schools will not be tolerated. As a community and as a society, we are better than that. Winter Break is here and I ask that you please take the time to talk with your children about the importance of their safety and the safety of others. Finding out where the popular hangouts in our community are located (McDonald’s, In-and-Out Burger, etc.) and having an awareness of what goes on there. Also, being aware of what your child and others are doing on social media are important steps that we can all take, together, to help promote the safety of our children. It is imperative as a community and school district that we look after our children the best we can.
I’m a father and my two boys are adults now and I still worry about them every second of the day. I know you feel the same about your children. During the holiday season, we tend to focus on love and giving to others. We feel warmth from seeing others smile. Let us continue those gestures and hold those who are close to us while doing what we can to be there for each other.
Thank you for your ongoing support in keeping all of our students safe. I wish you a relaxing and enjoyable winter break with family and friends. Thank you for making GPS a very special place to live, work and learn!
Shane McCord is superintendent of the Gilbert Public Schools district. We would like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
