When administrators respond to a serious hate incident on the day it occurs or is discovered, they help to calm student fears, control rumors and signal the start of a healing process. The following simple statement can guide the school in preparing one appropriate to its circumstances. (see also Denounce the Hateful Act and Address Fears and Confusion.)

As many of you know, a very unfortunate incident occurred today. It involved a group of about 30 students who walked out of the building at 10 o'clock. Some of the students were shouting racial insults, and some waved Confederate flags. No students were physically injured. School officials and police are meeting with the students at this time. It may take several days to get all the facts about what happened and why.

An incident like this affects our whole school and our community, though, and that's why I wanted to address it right now. Every person in this school deserves respect. Our school can be a community in which everyone gets respect only if none of us will tolerate disrespect against anyone else.

I apologize to everyone for the hateful language you may have heard and for the waving of Confederate flags at school. There will be consequences for those involved in this unacceptable incident. I ask students who have information about this to report it to a teacher or to me. You can also leave information anonymously via the telephone tip-line or e-mail.

One way you can demonstrate respect to all students and staff is by leaving the building in a quiet and orderly manner this afternoon. Remember that responding in kind to violence or harassment only increases the danger to everyone.

In the days and weeks to come, I hope that we can all focus on more than the upsetting incident today. This is a good time for us to examine the ways we are all showing respect for one another. Are some students being harassed by others? If so, how and why? And, most important, what can all of us do to stop it?

Within the next few days, you will have an opportunity to discuss these questions at school and suggest solutions. Please let your parents know that we will also schedule an evening meeting next week for them, you and other people in the community to talk about today's incident and to consider these same questions. Let's use this unfortunate incident as an impetus to make changes that will make our school a better place for everyone.