By Richard C. Dujardin
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- State Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Deborah Gist says "our thoughts and prayers go out to the families whose children and loved ones were victims" of the tragic shooting in Newton, Conn.
"As educators, our very first priority is to ensure that our children are safe in school, and I want to assure Rhode Islanders that we have a number of protocols and practices in place to keep our schools safe and secure," she said in a statement issued Friday afternoon.
Gist added that officials will continue to monitor events in Connecticut and "if we can learn anything from analysis of this crime to make our schools even safer we will certainly do so."