Letter to TSD Parents- Safety February 2018
February 23, 2018
Dear Talawanda Families:
The Talawanda community has been so sad to learn of one more school tragedy that occurred this past week in our country. We grieve for those students, families, educators! Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Parkland, Florida community. It is terrible that schools must prepare their safety plans and procedures in ways that address potential threats of violence against children in our schools.
As a member of the education/school community, and as a guardian of the students who pass through our doors, I feel it is imperative that student welfare and safety be our first priority within the Talawanda School District.
The district administrators meet with local safety officials each quarter to evaluate the district’s emergency plans, resources, and training needs. Administrators are asked to review building safety plans on a regular basis. Staff members are asked to keep their emergency protocols on their desks so that they are easily accessible. Annually, safety officials from the Oxford Police Department and the Butler County Sheriff’s Department volunteer their time to provide ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) training to our K-12 students. The state requires that drills are conducted annually, functional table top drills are conducted every other year, while functional drills are conducted every third year. We have been engaged in planning a functional community drill for many months that will take place on August 31, 2018. Community volunteers will be asked to assist with this task.
If you’re looking for additional resources as a prevention or intervention measure, please refer to the following links:
https://www.schoolcrisiscenter.org/resouces/talking-kids-about tragedies
http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/crisis/crisis.pdf
http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/violence/violence.pdf
If you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me at spiveyk@talawanda.org.
Sincerely,
Kelly Spivey
Superintendent
