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When Catastrophe Strikes - A Q&A with Newtown’s Janet Robinson
When Catastrophe Strikes
A Q&A with Newtown’s Janet Robinson on the emotional impact, protocols to emulate and her lessons for colleagues
“Nothing can prepare you for a tragedy like this.”
That understatement belongs to Janet Robinson, the superintendent in Newtown, Conn., at the time of the murder of 20 young pupils and six staff members at her district’s Sandy Hook Elementary School, a tragedy that shocked the world last Dec. 14.
A month later, Robinson sat for an interview with James Harvey, director of the National Superintendents Roundtable. Harvey included the Q&A in the second edition of The Superintendent’s Fieldbook: A Guide for Leaders of Learning, published by Corwin earlier this year. He granted permission to School Administrator to run extended excerpts of the interview, during which Robinson reflected on the experience. “You just have to try to make decisions that focus on helping children and families heal,” she said.
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Reprinted with permission from the October 2013 issue of School Administrator magazine, published by AASA, The School Superintendents Association.
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Mentors.net - a Professional Development Resource
Mentors.net was founded in 1995 as a professional development resource for school administrators leading new teacher induction programs. It soon evolved into a destination where both new and student teachers could reflect on their teaching experiences. Now, nearly thirty years later, Mentors.net has taken on a new direction—serving as a platform for beginning teachers, preservice educators, and
other professionals to share their insights and experiences from the early years of teaching, with a focus on integrating artificial intelligence. We invite you to contribute by sharing your experiences in the form of a journal article, story, reflection, or timely tips, especially on how you incorporate AI into your teaching
practice. Submissions may range from a 500-word personal reflection to a 2,000-word article with formal citations.
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