Today marks seven years since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Like many, I will never forget where I was and what I felt that morning. I was serving jury duty. When the news broke, we were all quickly dismissed. I immediately raced back to my school so I could be with my students when they heard because I knew they would have questions.

I felt utterly helpless.

As a nation, we were collectively shocked, nauseated and devastated. As a mom, I was heartbroken for the families. As an educator, I was saddened for students and teachers around the country, whose classrooms no longer felt safe. And as a citizen, I was determined to do better to protect our children.

We need to do more to address the gun violence epidemic. Since the tragedy at Sandy Hook, thousands of Americans have lost their lives in mass shooting events in communities of all types. We CAN fix this. We have to fix this.

Today, we remember the 20 first-graders and six educators who lost their lives. Tomorrow, we get back to work.

With love and strength,

-- Jahana