October 30, 2026 | By Meg McDonoughEditor’s Note: The following letter from Harwood Union Middle/High School Principal Meg McDonough went to all parents and guardians of Harwood students this week. McDonough also shares this message with the community that includes her remarks to the school’s junior and senior classes on Thursday referencing the recent tragic deaths of students Vinny Viola and Gracie Dunbar in car crashes.
Throughout this week, I have heard from many of you, and the concern from our community has been echoed by local journalists. An editorial in the Times Argus and Rutland Herald called all of us in—the adults—to “talk about safe driving, model it every day, and support the protections that help young drivers get home safely.” In the last few weeks, much consideration and discussion had already begun about how Harwood would be doing just this.
In the weeks and months ahead, we intend to take a multi-pronged approach. We are currently planning a caregiver evening, which will be focused on prevention and connection (preliminarily scheduled for November 17 at 5 p.m.). Additionally, we are connecting with outside speakers for our students, focused on safe choices as they relate to driving and substance use. We are also in the beginning stages of consideration of a whole-school dialogue.
Today this started with these direct and honest words to junior and senior Classes of 2027 and 2028 with an eye to Halloween weekend:
This week I have been humbled by the outpouring of support that Harwood has received from across the state. Their eyes are on us out of deep worry for you. Schools have sent messages of care and journalists are writing articles to share the story out of sadness and concern for you. I am continually hearing this as a call for us, the adults in your life, to do more.
Earlier this week, Vinny [Viola]’s grandmother came to speak with me directly, sharing a deeply personal request. It is the very same plea Vinny’s mother made when we spoke over the phone yesterday.
It was a heartfelt request for Harwood to support you in reflecting and truly considering your choices so that the devastating mistake Vinny made never costs another precious life in our community.
His family wants you to know that Vinny had a blood alcohol concentration way over the legal limit for an adult, and he was driving 109 miles per hour when he left the road.
Vinny was a good human being—with a bright, mischievous smirk that never failed to make me smile.
Losing both Vinny and Gracie are profound tragedies. And they will become even greater tragedies if we—you—fail to reflect and take lessons away from the heartbreaking realities of these losses.
Tragic accidents can happen, but your choices can shape those outcomes. The night of Vinny’s memorial service, there was a party with underage drinking in our community, a stark reminder that asks all of us what lessons were truly taken to heart.
Now, five weeks later, seeing continued risky behavior, from homecoming choices to this past weekend's heartbreaking events, leaves me asking you directly to deeply reflect: What lessons will you take away from this?
What you each can learn will be unique—for some it might be consideration of your own choices. For others it’s the choices you make for your friends. For some it might impact your actions this weekend. For all of you, I hope it includes a consideration of how you will make choices that keep you and your friends safe.
That consideration starts right now, asking yourself hard questions before such a moment occurs:
What will you say when you are in the passenger seat and your friend is driving 90 miles per hour down Route 100?
What will you do when you are behind the wheel and someone gets into your car with alcohol?
What will you do when a friend who has been drinking starts to get behind the wheel?
I speak to you today not just as your principal, but as a mother, an aunt, and a community member who has watched many of you grow into the incredible young people you are.
I cannot make these choices for you when you step out these doors.
What I can do is show you every single day how much your lives matter to me. I will keep bringing you into these difficult, necessary coversations — challenging you to pause, think clearly, and choose the path that keeps you and your friends alive and safe.
Very specifically, I want to leave you today deeply thinking about your actions this weekend — please make choices to stay safe and support the safety of each other.
As the caregivers to our children, I encourage each of you to take a moment to read the newspaper editorial and specifically consider the section that specifies “What parents can do to give their teen a safe start.”
The work of keeping our children safe requires our collaboration and connection.
In partnership,
Meg McDonough
Harwood Union Middle/High School principal