May 19, 2018
Dear Governor Sununu,
Ive been a high school principal for about a dozen years. Starting in July, Ill be the principal of Somersworth High School. Several years ago, as principal of Spaulding High School, I spent an afternoon going classroom to classroom, wearing a bulletproof vest, with two Rochester police officers, weapons drawn, not a drill, looking for an armed intruder and clearing out students and teachers from closets and under tables. And Ive certainly had more difficult days. Its not always fully recognized, but a principals most sacred responsibility is the safety of their students. Unfortunately, Governor, I would like you to know that you are not helping. I state this bluntly, not as a matter of hyperbole, but because I believe it is true. And, yes, I am hoping to get your attention. I am sad, and I am concerned. But mostly, in the wake of ten more deaths at a high school in Texas, I am angry.
The epidemic of gun violence in this country is reaching a tipping point. School shootings are becoming common place. Kids are being killed at school routinely. More Americans have died this year in school shootings than serving in the military. Teenagers send fan mail to the young man who took 17 lives at Stoneman Douglas in February. This is utterly insane.
I understand that the problem is bigger than just guns. We live in a country that glorifies all sorts of violence through film, television, video games, and social media and desensitizes us to all of it. There are far too many individuals struggling with depression, isolation, irrelevance, and mental illness who are often ignored, unsupported, and untreated. And, as an educator, I certainly know that our schools need
