Superintendent Rundle Celebrates First Day of School and Addresses School Shooting in Minneapolis

Superintendent Rundle visited Lakeridge Wednesday morning on the first day of school to welcome students back to school and to attend the PTA Welcome Coffee with new Lakeridge principal Jennifer Cleaves.

Dear Mercer Island Families,

The energy and excitement our students and staff brought today electrified the schools. The day can be a little rough on our kindergarten parents. We were all there at one point too- there is no shame in some parental tears as you watch your first, second, third, or even fourth child head off to elementary school. Do not fret, you, too, will join your friends and neighbors by tomorrow rejoicing in the streets to have the kids back in school. For those of us on the receiving end, we are thrilled to welcome your children into our six schools. We are ready to ride this wave of optimism and rejuvenation through the year.  

Unfortunately, on our very first school day and in the middle of SMART week, a week dedicated to promoting safer gun storage to prevent gun violence, I am compelled to address yet another attack on an American school. It angers me that this morning in Minneapolis, on what should have been a joyous day in the first week of school at Annunciation Catholic School, tragedy struck when a gunman opened fire. Unconscionable gun violence in any school reverberates across all schools. There I was leaving Islander Middle School after a spectacular start for our sixth graders and enjoying the same exuberance at Lakeridge when I learned of this news.   

My immediate thoughts go out to all of the students, staff, family, and community members affected. I reflect on the far too many gun-related attacks in our schools near and far. I started teaching in August 1999, four months after the Columbine shooting. My career has been shaped by school violence. I never thought 27 school starts later we would still be facing these repeated tragedies. Just last year, in what was our second week of school, I wrote a similar email to the community following a school shooting in Georgia. These horrible events make me angry and at the same time embolden our team and me to stay resolute in our commitment to safety in our schools.        

As a reminder from last year’s message, MISD does not necessarily comment on every act of school violence, but with a new year underway, I hope to take the opportunity to reassure our students, staff, and families about school safety. Tony Kuhn, Director of Maintenance and Operations, leads our safety efforts, making sure we provide the safest learning environments possible.

Below, we have highlighted some ways we work to keep our schools safe, but I want to spotlight a change we are making this year. It will be fairly transparent to our community, but behind the scenes it is going to be another layer of safety for our schools. 

This school year we are expanding Raptor Technologies. You already engage with Raptor when you volunteer or come to our schools and scan your identification/driver’s license. Raptor Technologies has other safety features such as software that will allow staff members to place a building into lockdown and alert district staff and local law enforcement of threats. Instead of remembering how to make an all-call or calling the main office to notify people of a threat, any staff member will be able to protect the building and place it into lockdown with their computer, iPad, or phone. We will have all staff trained by December 1. 

This past legislative session, the Washington legislature passed Alyssa's Law, which mandates all schools to install silent alarms that connect directly to local law enforcement agencies to accelerate law enforcement response time. The law requires all Washington school districts to submit a progress report to OSPI by October 1, 2025 documenting progress on complying with the changes. The work of Tony and our Facilities team started well before the state law, so we will be ahead of the progress report expectations.

Last Friday, I included information about the See Something Say Something platform in a community message that I would like to share with you again. 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the Say Something call/text center monitors and responds to tips. While Say Something started following the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, tips can be related to any and all concerns. This is NOT only for students; parents, staff, and community members can report as well. Mercer Island School District signed onto the Sandy Hook Promise and has been a member of the Say Something community for many years.

When a tip is submitted, the national center immediately responds. The Say Something staff member engages the tipster to learn as much as possible. Based on the nature of the concern, they begin sending alerts to our administrators. We have an internal protocol for contacting one another to ensure we are following through, notifying police if necessary, and gathering the right staff to intervene either in the moment or at school the next day. We have launched into action on weekends, over the summer, while on vacation during spring break, in the middle of a school day, and late at night. There is not a time when we do not respond.

In conjunction with MIPD and other law enforcement agencies, we attend trainings and rehearse for emergencies in our schools ranging from fires to earthquakes to active shooters. We maintain an active partnership with the Puget Sound Educational Service District’s School Safety Cooperative, giving us access to the latest safety training and threat assessment protocols.

School shootings and violence is a national crisis. We will continue to do everything we can in our schools to protect students. However, if we want real change we are going to have to confront our historical unwillingness to make systemic changes to education funding, social services, including mental health support, and gun control laws.

With heavy hearts for the Annunciation Catholic School community, I remind us that we are an exceptional school district because of our awesome students, dedicated staff, and involved families. I look forward to hearing stories of learning, joy, and exceptionality from everyone in the coming days and weeks as we embark on the 2025-26 school year. 

In partnership,

Fred Rundle