Woburn Officials Respond to Tragedy in Danvers

Editor's Note: The following is a joint statement by Woburn Superintendent of Schools Mark Donovan, Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin, and Woburn Police Chief Robert Ferullo in response to the tragic events that happened in Danvers on Wednesday. Danvers High School math teacher Colleen Ritzer was found dead behind the school, allegedly killed by a 14-year-old student.

The City of Woburn and the Woburn Public Schools are saddened to hear about the tragic event that happened yesterday in Danvers. Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Danvers school community and everyone who has been affected.

While this type of violence is very uncommon, we want to assure the Woburn school community that Mayor Galvin, Chief Ferullo, and Superintendent Donovan have worked together to ensure that school safety is a top priority. A thorough review of our practices and procedures was conducted last winter. As a result, we have tightened up some procedures, provided all schools with additional training, and ran drills in each school to prepare for various types of emergency situations. Various security enhancements have been made within the district in an effort to keep students and staff as safe as possible. This work is ongoing. As new research is conducted in the area of school safety, examples of best practices become available. These practices are an important part of future planning.

Of course, when this type of tragedy happens, whether it's a middle school in Nevada or a school close to home, our fears and concerns rise to the surface. Fortunately, school security has been a long-time priority for all of us. The collaboration between the Mayor's office, the Police Department and the School Department is strong. We have been in contact with one another this morning, and we will meet during the day today to make sure we're doing all we can to provide a safe and secure environment for all students and staff.

Superintendent Mark Donovan
Mayor Scott Galvin
Chief Robert Ferullo