The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-29)

SUNDAY, MAY 29 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A

nassp.org/actnowass

We are members of a club that no one wants to join. Yet, our membership

keeps growing.

We are the Principal Recovery Network, a group of school leaders who

have lived through shootings at each of our schools. We constantly relive

one of the worst days of our lives because we have taken it upon ourselves

to reach out to principals who have experienced a shooting at their schools

and help them navigate a path we all unfortunately have been down.

The tragedy at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, was the 27

th

school

shooting this year and one of hundreds since the massacre at Columbine

High School 23 years ago. These horrific acts have compelled us to speak

out. They compel us to act.

To every elected leader at every level of government, you have a duty

to do everything it takes to prevent our kids and educators from being

murdered in school. Time and time again, we have come to you to prevent

future shootings. If you don’t act now, this will happen again.

We beg you. Do something. Do anything. This is a bipartisan issue.

Protect our students. Protect our educators. Protect our schools.

Violence extends well beyond our campuses. We ask you to act and to

do the right thing—protect our communities.

Michael Bennett, former Assistant Principal,

Columbia High School, East Greenbush, NY

Elizabeth Brown, Principal,

Forest High School, Ocala, FL

Frank DeAngelis, former Principal,

Columbine High School, Littleton, CO

Lauren Ford, former Principal,

Procter R. Hug High School, Reno, NV

Andy Fetchik, former Principal,

Chardon High School, Chardon, OH

Denise Fredericks, Principal,

Townville Elementary School, Townville, SC

Kathleen Gombos, Principal,

Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, CT

Patricia Greer, former Principal,

Marshall County High School, Benton, KY

Warman Hall, former Principal,

Aztec High School, Aztec, NM

Jake Heibel, Principal,

Great Mills High School, Great Mills, MD

Matthew Hicks, former Assistant Principal,

Noblesville West Middle School, Noblesville, IN

Greg Johnson, Principal,

West Liberty-Salem High School, West Liberty, OH

Michelle Kefford, Principal,

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland, FL

Andy McGill, Assistant Principal,

West Liberty-Salem High School, West Liberty, OH

Kevin Lein, former Principal,

Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, SD

Jeff Meisenheimer, Principal,

Lee’s Summit North High School, Lee’s Summit, MO

George Roberts, former Principal,

Perry Hall High School, Baltimore, MD

Ryan Rollinger, Principal,

Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, SD

Michael Sedlak, former Assistant Principal,

Chardon High School, Chardon, OH

Ty Thompson, former Principal,

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland, FL

Stacey Ting, Principal,

Sparks Middle School, Sparks, NV

The Principal Recovery Network is a program of NASSP

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