TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — School is starting on August 3 for the Sunnyside School District. New Superintendent Jose Gastelum says the focus is on safety.
“Our priority is the safety of our students,” said Gastelum.
Gastelum says in light of the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, he understands parents have concerns.
“I’m a father of school age children myself, and that’s on our mind,” said Gastelum.
He believes schools in the district have strong safety infrastructure, like controlled entries and wrought iron gates.
The focus now is on eliminating human error.
“And what I mean by that is leaving doors open, leaving gates unlocked,” he says.
As part of the focus on safety, Gastelum says that with the start of the new school year, students will now have an easy and anonymous method of reporting when they don’t feel safe.
“We need to teach them that it’s okay to report things,” he explains.
A link to “See Something, Say Something” is going to be available on all devices given to students.
“We want our families to be able to send their children and feel comfortable sending their children, and knowing they’re in good hands,” said Gastelum.
He also mentioned he attended school within the Sunnyside Unified School District, so he’s excited to get the school year started as the new superintendent.
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Reyna Preciado is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2022 after graduating Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Reyna by emailing reyna.preciado@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, or Twitter.
