As school districts navigate what has proven to be an uncertain time for K12 education, this principal from Connecticut’s Danbury Public Schools has one message for concerned parents regarding immigration: your kids are safe at school.
Education leaders nationwide have already voiced their plans to ensure schools are a safe haven for students as immigration-related conversations ramp up. Denver Public Schools for example recently sued to block immigration officers from stepping onto campus in hopes of reversing President Donald Trump’s new policy of stripping schools of their protected status.
Rogers Park Middle School Principal Kristy Zaleta says she’s seen a dip in attendance starting as early as November citing fear among parents and students surrounding President Donald Trump’s immigration policy. She also says several parents proactively contacted the school notifying its administration of their child’s new guardian in case something were to happen to their parents.
She says the district has communicated its protocol for unexpected visits from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to help parents understand that their children will be protected.
“Our superintendent created our ICE enforcement and response guidelines and met with us as an administrative team across our 20 schools,” says Zaleta.
The guidelines state that under no circumstances is any individual, including federal agents, permitted to enter school grounds without presenting a judicial warrant and receiving explicit authorization from the superintendent and in-house legal team.
“We also went over things like what a judicial warrant looks like. What an arrest warrant and a removal warrant look like,” she explains.
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In the event Zaleta is presented with a judicial warrant, her response is to immediately contact the superintendent, who will guide her next steps and deploy the district’s lawyer.
“We have a document that helps us make sure we’re asking important questions in the heat of the moment—things like contacting the superintendent, getting names, badge numbers, phone numbers, everything,” she says.
Zaleta has also established strong relationships with the school’s families. Among the school’s nearly 900 students, the largest ethnic population is Hispanic. She doesn’t call herself a bilinguist, but she does her best to communicate with families everything they need to do to stay safe and in the know.
“Our message to parents has been, ‘We’re here for you. We serve our community no matter who you are. All means all to us,'” she says.
As for students, she constantly reminds them that they’re safe within school walls.
“I’m talking to the kids in their native language ensuring them that they’re safe to come to school,” she says. “I will do everything I can to protect you.”
