Fairfax County Public Schools superintendent Daniel Domenech has asked all of the school systems' principals to read a brief statement before the regularly scheduled moment of silence to mark the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
All administrators are being asked to maintain a regular instructional program that day, but support and counseling will be available to any student or staff member who requests help. Teachers are not being directed to teach a special curriculum, and principals have been encouraged to visit the National Association of School Psychologists Web page at www.nasponline.org/NEAT/911memorial.html for guidelines on dealing with the anniversary. Media will not be permitted on school grounds that day.
The announcement is as follows:
"AS WE ALL KNOW, today is the first anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. As we have our moment of silence today, we might think of those who perished in those attacks, those who survived and all those who acted so bravely on that day. We might also think of the contribution each of us can make to our nation and to peace throughout the world."