Newtown Middle School Resource Officer William Chapman has a message at the start of this school year.  

With the school in the middle of a downtown area, students are a big part of the community.  He says the staff is not equipped to supervise students who walk to and from school once they leave campus, adding that the police department will do the best to patrol the center of town at dismissal time. Chapman noted though that there are 57 other square miles in town to focus on. 

Chapman called on parents to have a discussion with their kids about pedestrian safety, reminding them to cross in crosswalks, obey traffic signals, looking both ways before crossing and not being on the phone in busy parking areas and intersections. 

Since there are businesses nearby, the SRO asked that kids not congregate in the driveways of businesses and be respectful to staff and patrons.