Message to SAS Families

SAS Families,

The tragic event in Connecticut has brought up some questions regarding the safety plans for our schools. Please let me assure you that Saline Area Schools is well prepared for a wide variety of emergencies. Each school has a safety plan in place. This plan includes a heightened awareness from the main office staff and by our school staff. School doors, are in general, locked during the school day except for the front doors. Teachers and staff members have classroom safety plans with instructions in each classroom that are reviewed frequently.

There are staff members trained in crisis response and CPR in each building. Many staff members have also participated in staged training exercises in response to potential school emergencies.

Saline Area Schools works closely with the Pittsfield and Saline Police Departments. Police have reviewed and contributed to the district safety plans and participate with us in the training exercises. While today’s events are just now unfolding, we need to assure SAS families that we continue to assess our safety plans as we will again after this tragedy.

Please feel free to contact your school principal if you have any further questions. I want to share with you a link that we use to provide parents a resource to help talk with students when a tragedy, either locally or nationwide occurs.

http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/aftermath.aspx

This type of event is impossible to explain. Our thoughts are with the families at Sandy Hook Elementary School and the entire Newtown, Connecticut community.

Scot Graden