Laurel School Responds to Newtown Tragedy

Like most schools in the area, Laurel issued a letter to parents over the weekend in response to the .

Laurel's Head of School Ann V. Klotz wrote a memo that discusses the school's safety procedures and reassures families about the availability of in-house psychologist Dr. Ilissa Pearlman and consulting psychologist Dr. Lisa Damour.

Here's an excerpt from the letter:

As always, the safety and well-being of our students is our primary concern. I know you look to us to keep your children safe. Sadly, we cannot take safety for granted. Experts remind us that the best way to stay safe is to be safe, and in light of these recent events, we want to remind you of the procedures we have carefully developed:

 1.  We have a system in place that keeps strangers from entering the School. All doors to the building are locked except for the front door. No one can enter Laurel after arrival without checking in at the front desk.  All employees and visitors must wear a name badge.

 2.  We regularly practice lockdown drills: our most recent one was just two weeks ago.  Faculty and staff know what to do should a lockdown be necessary; there is an emergency plan in place. 

Klotz said parents can contact her or the division director with any concerns.

"I know that it is very scary to hear about students getting hurt at school," she wrote. "At Laurel, it is the adults' job to keep all of the girls safe and the adults are always being mindful of doing that job."