After Monday’s events at PMHS, PTA will seek ways to educate community on use of social media
To the editor:
We are thankful to know that everyone at Pelham Memorial High School is safe and that no one was in any danger at any time this week.
In a time when social media may create an inflated sense of urgency, heightened anxiety and a perception of danger, we all have a responsibility to avoid speculative rumors, misinformation and fomenting fear.
Some children felt unsafe on Monday and Tuesday, and no parent, teacher nor administrator ever wants that climate in a school environment. In situations like this, it is important to focus on clear communication of the facts. There are lessons to be learned from Monday to inform future decision making by students, parents, the school district and the police departments.
The PTA will pursue opportunities to educate the community on use of social media, and we will advocate for better use of resources like the school and police messaging systems, which are in place to help our community in fraught times, and better proactive communication in general.
As your elected PMHS PTA leadership, we are dedicated to promoting children’s health, well-being and educational success through strong parent, family and community involvement.
Sara Mallach
PMHS PTA president
12 Garden Road
Marjut Herzog
PMHS PTA president-elect
Bob Shepherd • Nov 6, 2021 at 6:41 pm
I applaud your commitment to pursue opportunities to educate the community on social media. However, the comment in your first line here “…no one was in danger at any time…” is extremely foolish and dangerous in my professional and personal opinion. We live in a country where there are more guns than people. In the recent past, the perpetrator of a school shooting has invariably been a high school student, ex student or known individual to the school. Therefore the school cannot keep them out, unless the individual has compromised themselves in some manner at some point before hand. Schools are not fortresses or prisons, and neither should they be. Students and staff alike need to come and go to and from the campus freely. So, for that matter, the PMHS is never safe…and both students and staff are required to be taught their options should an extreme shooting scenario ever arise. Given that you also say that you are dedicated to promoting children’s health and well being, then I would like to see you plan accordingly, put the school security situation into perspective, and address the fact that PMHS requires the knowledge of their options to security measures at the earliest opportunity, given that so many students went with their gut feeling and left the school, rather than trusting school security modus operandi. Given the circumstances that I’m aware of from the school, I applaud every student for leaving if they feared for their life.
Ken Gusciora • Nov 5, 2021 at 10:38 am
These communications should be available to more than school parents. While I no longer have children in the Pelham schools. I am a tax payer and thus a stake-holder in what occurs in the schools – both positive and negative.
Sara Mallach • Nov 5, 2021 at 10:25 pm
Ken Gusciora anyone may sign up for police department communications and opt into nixle alerts. Anyone may sign up for general Pelham school district communications as well. Visit their respective websites for the links to enroll.
Christina Day • Nov 5, 2021 at 8:45 am
Thank you for your work on this and approach. Helping the community as a whole use social media in a responsible and positive way will benefit us all.