Van Superintendent Issues Heartfelt Statement to Community
Posted/updated on: May 16, 2015 at 10:00 pm
VAN – In a heartfelt message Thursday, Van Superintendent Don Dunn reflected on the past, the current and the future of their school and community, according to KETK. “The last several days have been unbelievably intense and busy. This is the first time I have had a chance to sit down and communicate to our faculty and staff, our parents, our students, and our community. First and foremost, we are grieved at the loss of David and Brenda Tapley. They were both active in our community and will be missed tremendously. Van ISD would like to send our sincere condolences to their family. As for our buildings, we are still in the process of assessing the extent of the damage.
The buildings affected by the tornado include J.E. Rhodes Elementary School, Van Intermediate School, the “Old High School” building, the maintenance/bus barn, and the Van ISD Administration Building. I want to take this opportunity to address several entities.
To Our Community:
We are saddened to see the destruction of our town. To be honest, I have been completely engrossed with dealing with the needs of our district since Sunday night. I feel terrible in the fact that I have not been able to help the people of this community.
Until yesterday at lunch, I had not had a chance to get out and see the scope of the destruction. It is really indescribable, unbelievable, and still very surreal! I cannot believe there were not more fatalities. That being said…Our district and our community is blessed! Even though our buildings and our homes are shattered and strewn all over our town, we did not lose a single child in the tornado. These building can be replaced…our children can’t.
God is good!!! I truly believe God is in control of ALL things and that everything happens for a reason. WE, the community and the district, have an unbelievable amount of work ahead of us. But we also have an unbelievable opportunity ahead of us as well. Van is a GREAT community and the district is blessed with incredible employees. We will rise from this! We are Van!
To Our Parents:
We were faced with difficult decisions concerning what was the best thing to do for our approximately 850 Pre-K through 3rd grade students. We looked into ways to reorganize our campuses to accommodate them. We looked at the possibility of integrating them into the other campuses. We even looked at the possibility of moving them to other towns to educate them in other districts’ open facilities. This was an impossible option because of our busing situation.
In the end, we really didn’t have a good option. Our only other option was to apply for a waiver from the Texas Education Agency that would allow us to dismiss these students from attending school for the remainder of the year. This waiver was granted. We understood this was going to be an issue with parents trying to line-up child care for this time period. We thought it was important to mention at the Tuesday press conference that we were going to apply for this waiver and that our parents should start making their plans in case the waiver was accepted.
Hopefully, we have given our parents enough time to make these plans. The good thing is…we only have 12 school days until our summer break begins. Our parents were going to have to make these arrangements at that time anyway. Still, I understand that it is another inconvenience, and I want to apologize for that, but we are under extraordinary circumstances, and we ask for your understanding and patience.
We also know how important it is for our Pre-K through 3rd grade students to have some sort of closure to this school year. Our teachers did not even get a chance to tell their students good-bye and vice-versa; therefore, we have scheduled two “Closure Nights” for our J.E. Rhodes Elementary and Van Intermediate students. J.E. Rhodes Elementary will meet tomorrow night, Friday, May 15th at Van Middle School at 5:30 p.m. Van Intermediate School will hold their meeting tomorrow night, Friday, May 15th at Van Junior High School at 6:30 p.m.
Each teacher will be assigned a classroom and will have the opportunity to meet with their students and parents. Each meeting will begin with pizza and drinks in the cafeteria. Instructions will be given by our principals as to where each teacher will be located. This is a very important meeting for our teachers. They have been worried sick about “their kids” and how they have been affected this past week. Please make every effort to attend these events if you have children in these grade levels.
One last note, parents, our elementary campuses will look different next year. We will have to bring in portable buildings in order to have classroom space. We are going to make sure they are high quality and safe for your children. They will be temporary. We will look to rebuild as quickly as possible. Again, please be patient with us. I have also placed a calendar of events at the bottom of this update. It should have all the scheduled events taking place for the remainder of the year. We WILL have Kindergarten Graduation this year!
To Our Teachers and Staff:
We can only imagine what you have gone through the past several days. Not only were you dealing with your own personal circumstances with regard to the tornado damage, but you have also been worried about your students as well. I know we had several employees’ homes that were directly hit by the tornado.
I can’t even imagine what you are going through. For those who were affected, know that we are going to work with you. Your first priority needs to be your family. Please let us know if you have special circumstances, and we will do everything we can to help you. There is a lot of information floating around right now; some of it true and some not.
Each campus has scheduled a faculty meeting tomorrow morning. My plan is to attend each one and answer any questions you may have regarding the two affected campuses and their impact on our district. We have met with our principals and have a plan in place for our J.E. Rhodes Elementary and Van Intermediate School faculty and staff. This plan will be shared with you at tomorrow’s faculty meetings. I also want to address those of you who have Pre-K through 3rd grade children of your own.
We understand that childcare for these two weeks has put you in a bad position. We also know that it was not your fault the tornado came through and caused this; therefore, we are not going to penalize you for this. We are working on a plan right now to provide care for your children for the remainder of the school year so you will not have to take off work or spend any extra on childcare.
I know many of our cafeteria, maintenance, and custodial staff have children in this age group, and we know how much of a burden this could cause them. This service will only be offered to Van ISD employees and only to children who currently attend Pre-K through 3rd grade. More information will be provided at tomorrow’s faculty meetings.
To Our Support Staff:
You are our unsung heroes! I wish people could see how hard you work and how much pride you take in your jobs. I can’t begin to tell you how helpful you have been since Sunday. Our custodial, maintenance, and grounds crews have worked tirelessly to clean debris and help in any way possible to ensure that our campuses are clean and ready for school on Monday.
Our technology team has worked around the clock to ensure that our technology was up and running and restored to all campuses. The transportation department is currently working to ensure that the buses are up and running for Monday morning.
Our administrative office staff has worked endlessly packing and moving boxes to our new location so that we could make a seamless transition from administration to our new mobile offices. There are countless others who have contributed their time, services, and energies for the good of the cause. All of these employees are sold out to Van ISD.
Do not think for a minute your efforts are not important and are not noticed. We could not have made it through this week without you.
To Our Students:
First, to our Pre-K through 3rd grade students I would like to wish you a great summer break. I have one daughter who was thrilled with this decision and another who thought it stunk. Please be safe and enjoy your time away from school. We are going to work hard to rebuild your school buildings.
Remember how important it is for you to continue to read throughout the summer months. Make sure you read to your parents and/or have your parents read to you at least 15 minutes each day throughout the summer. I can’t stress how important this is for you as you continue on your path to college. READ!!! As for our students in grades 4-12, open your eyes to what you are witnessing right now.
One day you will tell your grandchildren how this event transformed our district and our community. Notice how this community has pulled together. Notice how people from all over the state and nation are coming to the aide of our town and its people. Notice how you feel when you yourself serve others. Let these things impact and form you into a better person.
Also take notice of how much support has been shown from our surrounding towns and rivals. I never thought I would see a day when the students of Canton, Grand Saline, and Lindale would wear Red in their support of you. Remember their gestures!!! You may have the opportunity to show your gratitude toward them. If you get the chance…Do It! Be a Vandal! There is an unbelievable amount of pride in that statement.
Keep your head up, roll up your sleeves, and show what you are made of. We will get better from this!
We Are Van!!”
Don Dunn
Superintendent
