Your article (March 8) reported interview data with school administration only. I believe that this article was one-sided and did not report the full picture for the students and parents. Your article was clearly not accurate and not fully truthful.
To remedy this reporting, I believe you should interview students and parents to report properly on this subject. You should choose an adequate number in each category (call parents in the school handbook (30 percent), ask students in each grade (30 percent), interview teachers in every grade (30 percent), ask the Jteam — the sheriff juvenile team — to assess a number of questions. Of primary importance might be:
1. If you knew of a student or friend who had possession of a gun, what would you do?
2. Who do you feel you should tell? How and when would you tell? Do you feel you could tell someone and when would you tell? Is there a phone number to call or a place to leave a note, if you wanted to tell? Do you feel safe in telling so that you would not feel like a “squealer”?
3. How would you decide to tell and why? Why would you not tell?
4. Do you know of a friend who has a gun?
5. Do you feel safe reporting or sharing information about your friends who you think might be “at risk”? Would you want to report issues about guns, drug use or other concerns? Do you want to ask for advice for your friends or about how to handle advice for your friends?
You may find your survey exposes critical information in direct opposition to the belief, which our school administration believes to be true, and which you reported in your article to be true. This survey information may prove to be vitally important to necessary changes which our administration needs to make, yet believes may not be necessary or critical.
Gail S. Copley