During the Remote Learning life of the pandemic, many kids of all ages are at home with parents or a caregiver, and were home during Wednesday’s storming of the U.S. Capitol Building, and watched the events happen in real time. Videos from inside of the Capitol from people participating in the swarming were also circulated.

Parents needed to speak with their children about events and meanings of symbols as they happened. Beacon City School’s Superintendent Matt Landahl sent an email to the community the following day, offering encouragement to parents and caregivers that the district community was there to give support.

His email statement is below:

Dear Beacon Community:

The events yesterday in our nation’s capital were disturbing, to say the least. We are open and ready today for students in-person and online. Knowing that many of our youngest students may not even be aware of the events that took place, we will emphasize safety and community today and always. Thanks again to our educators and staff for doing this every day.

Images have been widely circulated on social media and television of the confederate flag and clothing celebrating the Holocaust being brandished in our Capitol building yesterday. It has always been our practice to not allow these images in school and it was put officially into our Code of Conduct by the Board of Education last year. We want to reassure a sense of safety on that level as well because of how disturbing these images were to us all.

If you have any specific concerns for your child, please contact your child’s teacher, principal or guidance counselor. We are prepared to offer support to everyone who needs it.

I wish I could be more eloquent in times like this and words often fail me. I know our school community will continue to offer strong support for our students during what has been an incredibly challenging year. As I often say, I am inspired on a daily basis by the resilience and strength of our staff, families, and students this year. Thanks as always for your support.

Sincerely,

Matt Landahl