April 26, 2024
Dear North Penn Families and Staff,
The last week has been extremely difficult for many. This includes the Pennbrook students involved and who witnessed the attack, the families struggling with their concerns for student safety, and the NPSD staff who are trying to provide the support and communication necessary to heal. I truly hope our experiences serve to strengthen and unify us as a school district.
It is important during this challenging time to listen and engage in thoughtful discussions on the topic of safe schools. I have spent much of the past week listening to concerns and addressing issues, rumors, and questions. I have had phone conversations and meetings with parents, staff, students, board members, local law enforcement, security experts, and local and national legislators in an effort to gain a deeper understanding of the incident and to make sure that we take every step to prevent something like this from ever happening again in a North Penn School District building. We will continue to make progress through collaboration, partnership, and one conversation at a time.
In a letter that was sent to our community last weekend, I listed priority commitments that would begin immediately to address the issues at hand. While I will provide more details on Monday evening, I want to update you on our progress on a few of these items, though just a few days into the work.
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Steps to contract with a third-party investigator are underway, and one is expected to be in place by next week.
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A Safe Schools Forum will be held on Tuesday, May 14, at 6 p.m. at North Penn High School, 1340 Valley Forge Road, Lansdale. It will be broadcast live for those who cannot attend in person. The forum will be an opportunity for participants (in-person and virtual) to ask questions and for a panel of NPSD employees and safety experts to answer concerns. More information will be forthcoming with specifics.
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Plans are being finalized for student safety committees at each building to begin before the end of the school year. These details will be shared with our community through the Safe Schools Committee.
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Administration met with the Montgomery County School Safety Coordinator, Dr. Beth Sanborn, and we are working with her as we move forward.
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Additional counselors and emotional support were available at Pennbrook and will continue to be available as the students require. Student listening sessions are being planned districtwide to give us a better understanding of additional resources that are needed to help our students and to make our schools safer spaces.
We know there is much more work to be done, but I felt it was important to share what steps have occurred in a short time.
In addition, I would like to remind everyone that on Monday, April 29th, at 5:45 p.m. the previously scheduled virtual Safe Schools Committee will be held. To watch and/or register for the Safe Schools Committee meeting, click here. At this meeting, we will outline further details of the action plan mentioned above, clarify some of the information and questions that have been asked, discuss what has happened since that day, and outline steps that you can expect to see between now and May 14. Safe Schools Committee meetings include school board members and administrators and are similar to regular school board meetings in that community members can make public comments but it is not designed for a dialogue. The May 14th Safe Schools Forum will be a chance to have those important conversations.
I will continue to respond to your emails, phone calls, and meeting requests. Please join us both on Monday night (virtually) and on May 14 (NPHS) as we continue the essential work of school safety.
I wish you and your family a nice weekend.
Sincerely,
Todd M. Bauer
Superintendent