School Climate & Safety News in Brief

Shootings Claim Educators’ Lives

By Madeline Will — October 10, 2017 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history occurred last week when a gunman opened fire at an outdoor country-music festival in Las Vegas, killing at least 58 people and injuring hundreds of others.

At least eight who died were educators or school-based personnel. Assistant Editor Madeline Will noted their passing on Education Week Teacher’s Teaching Now blog.

Jennifer Parks, 36, was a kindergarten teacher in Palmdale, Calif. She had taught at Anaverde Hills School for three years.

“The students who were instructed by her knew what it was to love learning as Jennifer gave them the sense of wonder, curiosity, and excitement about all they did,” the Westside Union district said.

Sandy Casey, 34, was a special education teacher at Manhattan Beach Middle School in California.

“She’s absolutely loved by students and colleagues alike and will be remembered for her sense of humor, her passion for her work, her devotion to her students, her commitment to continue her own learning and taking on whatever new projects came her way,” Manhattan Beach Superintendent Mike Matthews told ABC 7.

Kelsey Meadows, 28, was a substitute teacher in Taft, Calif., at the same high school she once attended.

“Kelsey was smart, compassionate, and kind,” Taft Union High School’s Principal Mary Alice Finn, said. “She had a sweet spirit and a love for children.”

Lisa Romero Muniz, 48, was a discipline secretary at a Gallup, N.M., high school.

The Washington Post interviewed a woman who said Romero “was always telling my granddaughter to stay out of trouble and get somewhere and do the right thing.”

Susan Smith, 53, was the office manager at Visa Fundamental Elementary School. She had worked for the Simi Valley, Calif., district for 16 years.

“She had a great sense of humor. She was very funny. She was great with the children and with the staff,” Jake Finch, the district’s spokeswoman, told The Post.

Bill Wolfe Jr., 42, was the head wrestling coach at an elementary school in Shippensburg, Pa. The father of two also coached Little League.

Tony Yaniello, who coaches varsity wrestling at Shippensburg High School, told The Post that Wolfe made sure kids had fun, but also taught discipline and the rules of the sport.

Tara Roe, 34, was an educational assistant in Alberta, Canada.

Loretta Hamilton, a neighbor of Roe’s parents, told Canada’s CBC News that Roe was passionate about her work in education.

Jessica Klymchuk, 34, was an educational assistant, librarian, and bus driver for a Roman Catholic school in Alberta.

Betty Turbin, the superintendent of the Holy Family Catholic Regional Division said in a statement: “The scope of this tragedy is worldwide, and we are feeling its impact here at home.”

Read more here.

A version of this article appeared in the October 11, 2017 edition of Education Week as Shootings Claim Educators’ Lives

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School Climate & Safety Researchers Analyzed Years of Reports to a School Safety Tipline. Here's What They Learned
More than a third of gun-related tips in one state outlined possible school attacks, a new analysis finds.
4 min read
Illustration of a cellphone with a red exclamation mark inside of a word bubble.
iStock/Getty
School Climate & Safety Could Panic Buttons Save Lives in a School Shooting? More Schools Think So
There's legislative momentum to require panic alarm systems in schools. But many districts are installing the systems without a mandate.
6 min read
Visitors walk past a makeshift memorial honoring those recently killed at Robb Elementary School, Tuesday, July 12, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. A Texas lawmaker says surveillance video from the school hallway where police waited as a gunman opened fire in a fourth-grade classroom will be shown this weekend to residents of Uvalde.
Visitors walk past a makeshift memorial on July 12, 2022, honoring those killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in a May 2022 school shooting. Nearly a year after the Uvalde shooting, lawmakers in Texas passed a bill requiring that every public school classroom have a panic alarm system.
Eric Gay/AP
School Climate & Safety Opinion How to Strengthen the Safety and Security of Your School
Resources, guidance, and best practices can help leaders feel ready and empowered to improve their school’s safety and security.
Lindsay Burton & Michelle Kefford
6 min read
Illustration about warnings, with a businessman and woman each holding a with megaphone in front of a caution symbol.
Nuthawut Somsuk/iStock/Getty
School Climate & Safety 'Cascade of Failures' in Response to Uvalde School Shooting, Investigation Finds
The long-awaited federal review emphasized law enforcement failures, but also noted lapses in the district's safety policies.
6 min read
Attorney General Merrick Garland, right, and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, left, tour murals of shooting victims on Jan. 17, 2024, in Uvalde, Texas.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, right, and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, left, tour murals of shooting victims on Jan. 17, 2024, in Uvalde, Texas. Details of the U.S. Department of Justice Department's long-awaited investigation into the tragedy were released Jan. 18.
Eric Gay/AP