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PROTECTING PRESCHOOLERS: Though they’ve always had strict safety measures in place for their students and the caregivers that drop them off and pick them up, Wee Blessings Preschool owners Phil Chavez and Debi Larkin-Chavez will implement further protocols in light of the Sandy Hook tragedy. Submitted photo
Preschool safety
The administration at Wee Blessings Preschool in Chandler says it was a “very tough” time following the “horrific” school shooting, and their “hearts and prayers go out the victims and their families in this unbelievable tragedy.” Owner Debi Larkin-Chavez says the “safety of your child is our utmost priority” and assures parents of the measures the preschool takes to keep children safe. In late December, a new “lockdown” procedure was implemented, and all staff was briefed on the procedure. “We have also been in contact with the Arizona Department of Health Services Office of Childcare Licensing to make sure that we continue to be in safety compliance with the state,” she notes. In addition, she says they used the Christmas break to purchase a fence
covering for their play yard in the back of the facility. Larkin-Chavez asks parents to do their part by checking their child’s Blue Emergency Card to make sure the appropriate people drop off and pick up their child each day. “We will continue to check ID for folks we do not recognize,” she says. However, Larkin-Chavez says they will not be discussing the shooting in class or on school campus. “School psychologists are urging parents not to discuss this with children unless they bring it up to you,” she explains. “We feel that this topic is inappropriate to discuss with preschoolers and the last thing we want to do is put fear in them.”
How to help
The community organized a variety of ways to help those in Sandy Hook, whether with personal notes or donations to help underwrite support services, immediate needs and funeral expenses for the immediate families and victims.
WORDS OF COMFORT: Santan Elementary PTO President Lyle Bonfigt designed the logo for Hearts & Hugs, a CUSD campaign for Chandler’s children to write letters to Newtown, CT residents. Submitted photo
CLOSE TO HOME: Stepping up to lend a hand to Sandy Hook families are former Newtown residents Pamela and Jon LaBate, who relocated to Chandler six years ago with their children. Lizzie, 11, is a sixth-grade student at Ryan Elementary; Evan is 13 and in eighth grade at Santan Junior High, where his mom is Booster treasurer. Submitted photo
Chandler resident Christina Nguyen, the Ryan Royals PTO president, says CUSD PTOs and Booster Clubs throughout the district are working together to raise money for the Sandy Hook School Support Fund. She and former Newtown resident Pamela LaBate, who moved to Chandler six years ago and is the Booster treasurer for Santan Junior High, have set up a website where donations can be made, and a “Hearts & Hugs” campaign has been set up to write a message to the people of Sandy Hook. “It was just such an unfathomable, devastating event,” says LaBate. “It hit way too close to home. The worst part was that I couldn’t be there to help my friends who were attending funerals of their friends’ babies or helping plan funerals. I had to do something, anything. One of the families had just moved onto our street right before
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we moved here. After a particularly tearful phone call with an old Newtown neighbor, I called Christina and we formulated a plan.” In addition, Nguyen and LaBate say donations can be given to the PTO at each school or dropped off at Santan in an envelope marked Newtown Fund. Money collected will be combined and one check sent to the support fund on behalf of the community and families of the District. To help, visit cusd80.com/cms/lib6/ AZ01001175/Centricity/Domain/7/ Sandy_Hook_School_Support_Fund.pdf. Laurie Fagen is publisher of the SanTan Sun News and lives in Fox Crossing with husband Geoff Hancock and rescue cats Jazz and Phantom. She can be reached at Laurie@SanTanSun.com.
What do you think? How can we better protect Chandler’s children? Should school staff be trained and armed? Must funding be found for full-time police officers at every school? Or, is Sandy Hook an isolated incident that shouldn’t impact current safety measures? Send your responses to Letters@SanTanSun.com and include your community name for possible inclusion in a future issue of the SanTan Sun News.