Katherine Koonce - The Covenant School

On Monday, we witnessed another tragic school shooting. The Covenant School in Nashville will forever be changed. 

The Head of School at Covenant was Katherine Koonce. She and I served together on the Board of the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools. She was funny, quick-witted and loved kids. This is the first time I have known a victim of a school shooting, and it has impacted me. She was an amazing Head of School but an even better person.

I can’t help but think of her in those final moments. She had no idea that this would be her last day on earth when she arrived on Monday for the school assembly. At the assembly that morning, the entire school community sang Amazing Grace to begin the day. According to a witness, Katherine was on a Zoom call at 10:13 a.m. when she heard the first shot. She immediately ended the call, got up, and headed straight for the shooter.

I also think of those beautiful nine-year-olds who went to school on Monday smiling and skipping to school, oblivious to the evil they would encounter just a couple of hours later.

I think of the substitute teacher and the janitor who arrived at school to do good work in a community they loved.

According to The Washington Post, 46 shootings occurred on school campuses during school hours in 2022. This was the highest number of school shootings recorded in a single calendar year since 1999.

Schools should not be a place where our children and adults are fearful of coming. How have we gotten to the point where this has become the norm? We need to do better. I am not advocating a political agenda. I am merely speaking from the point of an educator. Why do we accept this?

I know on Monday, March 27, 2023, Katherine left the safety of her office to protect her kids. She died a hero, an educator, and someone who was trying to make the world a better place.
 

I recently heard from a faculty member who has a child at Saint Edward’s. Her daughter had questions about the shooting in Nashville. I am including resources below for those who may need them. 

Please know that we care about the safety and security of everyone on our campus. We routinely conduct drills and rely on the feedback and expertise of Deputy Cleveland and other law enforcement members to strengthen our protocols. We stand committed to ensuring that these tragedies don’t become normalized in our minds and that each situation is unique and lessons can be learned.

This is the least we can do to honor the memories of all victims and their families.

I look forward to seeing you around campus!

Stuart