March 15, 2024

Dear Families,

Today at about 11:35, some staff heard shots fired somewhere north of our school.  We began a shelter-in.  

A shelter-in means everyone inside the school is free to move around as usual, but no one is allowed to enter or exit the building.   

Officers from the 23 Precinct reported to our school and checked the area.  Our borough safety director, consulting with NYPD, ended the shelter-in at noon.

When the shelter-in was over, some classes were still processing the safety announcements they heard on the loudspeaker.  Selena was leading her K-1 students in a discussion about what some of them heard: gunshots somewhere outside their classroom window.

We had under fifteen minutes remaining for our usual yard time.  We extended recess for the older children, and younger students came down after 2-3 and 4-5 classes.

Some older kids ran outside and said the shortened recess was “unfair.”  It was a beautiful early spring day, unseasonably warm, with buds opening on the trees around the yard.  The kids were right.  There’s nothing fair about situations like this. 

I am glad to report that we were safe, and that we called the shelter-in promptly and decisively.  I’m sad that it happened again.  Nearby violence has interrupted school about twice a year, every year, for at least four years in a row. 

I’m sorry you’re reading about it once more.  That, too, is unfair.