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Parents take kids home for hugs and callsBy Times staff reports
© St. Petersburg Times, Joseph Alicea stood in the office of Calusa Elementary School, his eyes glued to the disastrous images flickering across a television in the corner. Alicea's brother-in-law worked at the World Trade Center, and he was at school gathering his children. "We haven't been able to make any contact with anybody in New York," Alicea said as he waited for his daughter, Elizabeth, 8, to be brought up from her classroom. "Just in case, we want to be together if there's bad news." Across Pasco County on Tuesday, scores of concerned parents like Alicea rushed to their children's schools as they learned of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. At Cotee River Elementary, about 100 children left school early with their parents. Schools remained open Tuesday, and will be open today. All after-school activities were canceled Tuesday, and school officials said they would decide today whether they would allow events scheduled for tonight and the rest of the week to go on. "So many of our kids have close connections to New York," superintendent John Long said. "Chances are, we'll have children who lost loved ones." Adalberton and Fanny Germoso couldn't wait until the end of school to get their two children at Lake Myrtle Elementary School. Both were raised in New York City and had just visited the city over Labor Day weekend. They wanted to get home with their kids, Anthony, 5, and Tanya, 8, to wait for the calls from relatives. "We're expecting some calls," Adalberton said. "I got goose bumps when I was seeing the news. There are no twin towers anymore." Principals allowed students and teachers in high schools and middle schools to follow the events on television as they developed throughout the day. School officials, however, ordered elementary teachers to turn off their classroom televisions. "The children are so young; this is a hard thing for them to understand," said Chris Dunning, principal of Calusa Elementary School. "It's hard for them to understand that New York City is far away. To them, those buildings could be right down the street." At West Zephyrhills Elementary, kindergarten and first-graders painted watercolor portraits on easels. Fifth-graders sat with math books open on their desks in one classroom. In another, children cut circles out of construction paper. "The children don't know what's going on; as far as I know, they have no idea," said principal Emily Keene. "We're trying to keep everything as calm as we can, as normal as possible." Parents taking their children out of school said their actions weren't motivated by fear. They simply needed to hug their children. "You just want to be with them," said parent Michelle O'Donnell. "It feels safer." Superintendent Long sent a letter home to parents asking them to keep their children's teachers apprised of family members affected by the terrorist attacks. "These children may have a more acute trauma and grief response to the events," the letter said. "Strong support and counseling may be needed and can be provided by the school or by community mental health agencies." All high school and middle school athletic activities in Pasco County were canceled Tuesday in the wake of the catastrophic events in New York City and the nation's capital. As of Tuesday afternoon, the district had not canceled Friday's high school football games, and a decision on whether to play games scheduled for this afternoon will be made today. "We're going to look at it again (today)," said Kit Broadbelt, a school official. "We haven't canceled anything for (today) yet. We'll see how this plays out." Pasco-Hernando Community College canceled classes Tuesday afternoon but planned to reopen today. It was the first time in the college's 29-year history that it closed in response to a national tragedy. "This is a time when people want to be with their families," said college president Robert Judson. Saint Leo University remained open. With so many of its students living on campus, it made no sense to close, said spokeswoman Jenifer LeBeau. Meanwhile, at Calusa Elementary, parent Tom Rutledge wondered what he was going to say to his two young boys. "First, Dad has to absorb it," he said. "How do you explain how fragile we all are?" - Staff writers Kent Fischer, Chase Squires, Brady Dennis, Ryan Davis and Steve Lee contributed to this report, which was compiled by Fischer.
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From today's Pasco Times |
