Safety Update from Superintendent Pedisich

December 17, 2012


Dear Parents,

We often think of our schools as one of the safest places for our children. To learn of how that changed for the young students at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut last Friday is deeply disturbing. In the days, weeks and months ahead, as this small community works to deal with the aftermath of this horrific attack, the collective thoughts and prayers of our school community will be with those most affected by this tragedy.

  It is often in a time such as this when we reflect inwardly and wonder, “What would we have done?” As this question is certainly at the forefront of most parents’ minds, I wish to assure you that in Three Village, the safety of our students and staff members has and will continue to be our number one priority. I believe our schools are safe, and while events such as these are incredibly alarming and frightening, they are rare.
 
For some time now, our district has implemented a school safety plan and charged an Emergency Management Team (EMT) to oversee our plans and procedures during a crisis situation. This plan is regularly reviewed and updated based on new information, and our EMT receives annual training on how to deal with dangerous situations in our schools. Our plan clearly defines the protocols for all individuals – from our administrators to our teachers – to follow in the event of an emergency situation or a lockdown, lockout or even a relocation event. With the help of our building principals, our schools conduct annual practice drills so that our students will have some familiarity with the roles they need to adopt during such a situation. Furthermore, our entire staff receives an overview of our plans as part of our Safe Schools Against Violence (SAVE) training.

In the wake of this event, our administrators will be reviewing our district’s safety policies this week with members of their staff, as a reminder of the practices we have in place. We will also re-examine existing security procedures and make changes as appropriate. Additionally, this January, our building principals and members of our EMT will receive National Emergency Management Training.

As parents, your first reaction is likely to be the desire to shield your children from the details of Friday’s tragedy. As a parent myself, I can relate. However, given the widespread and intense media coverage, this may be a difficult challenge. Starting today, the school administration, faculty and support staff has been available for individual students’ questions and concerns involving the heartbreaking events of Friday, and every effort will be made to ensure that your children and our staff have a safe and secure learning environment. If you are having difficulty in knowing how to address this tragedy with your children, I encourage you to seek the assistance of one of our school social workers, psychologists or guidance counselors. In addition, the following websites from the National Association of School Psychologists may be helpful:


All additional resources will also be posted to the Website.

As our nation works together to move past this tragedy, please know that we will remain dedicated in our efforts to maintain open communication and close collaboration among our schools, parents and community in order for our students to continue to view our schools as safe, secure and welcoming learning environments.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Cheryl Pedisich
Superintendent of Schools