Students #ENOUGH Protest Wednesday, 10am – Parents Need to Stay Home

Rye students are expected to participate in the nationwide "Enough is Enough School Walkout" this Wednesday at 10am for 17 minutes – one minute for each life lost in the Parkland school shooting.

School administrators are requesting parents stay away from school grounds at this time so police and security can safely manage the situation.

Please see the communication sent by the school on this past Friday:

From: Eric Byrne 
Sent: Friday, March 09, 2018
To: Rye City School District Recipients 
Subject: Additional Information re: Planned March 14 Student Walkout

Dear RCSD Parents and Guardians,

I hope you and your families fared well during the second winter storm this week.

This afternoon, our administrative team and security personnel met with Michael Corcoran, the Rye Commissioner of Public Safety, to discuss security plans related to the nationwide student-organized event known as the “Enough is Enough School Walkout” planned for next Wednesday, March 14. Participating students intend to walk out of schools across the country at 10:00 a.m. and stay outside for 17 minutes in remembrance of the 17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy.

Please note this event is student organized. The fact that we are communicating with parents about the event should not be construed as the School District or any of its associated schools sponsoring or condoning the event. While we support our students’ activism, our role is to ensure the safety and security of our students, faculty, and staff during the course of the walkout.

After meeting with the Commissioner and coordinating with administrators and the school principals, I have the following new information to share with you:

· Students who choose not to participate in the walkout will remain in their classrooms and continue their school day as normal. Their teachers will remain with them

· Students who choose to participate in the walkout will be accompanied out of the building by teachers/staff who have volunteered to assist with supervision

· Students from the High School and Middle School who choose to participate will gather in the front of the building, and Parsons Street will be closed to traffic. The Rye Police Department will be present to provide security

· At each of the elementary schools, there will be a designated secure, supervised area for students who choose to participate to gather. The Commissioner is hoping to have a police officer at each of the schools, but cannot guarantee it at this time. We urge parents not to visit the schools during the morning hours

· We have asked the District’s security company, NJB Security, to provide additional security for each of the schools

We are asking for your help to keep our students, faculty, and staff safe. We understand that there is interest on the part of some parents in participating in the walkout. On the advice of the Commissioner, we are asking parents not to come to the event. We cannot ensure a safe environment for our students if there are crowds of adults present. It is too much of a security challenge for police and school security personnel to vet adults. To that end, the High School/Middle School campus will be closed to all visitors from 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. on March 14.

It is a sad commentary on our times that we must be concerned about the safety of our students during a peaceful gathering, but this unfortunately is the case.

Sincerely,

Dr. Eric Byrne
Superintendent of Schools