Coming to school today following the Uvalde, TX tragedy is extremely difficult. We know that these life and death situations have an effect on all of us, especially our students. We want our schools to be a positive learning environment that is a safe haven to allow students to learn and have the most normal school experience, if that is possible.
Let's review what we do to be safe at JTASD:
- Local/State Police Support
- School Resource Officers in each school
- ALICE active shooter training for staff and students to learn how to respond to an intruder in the building
- Yearly Active Shooter Drills
- Yearly Lockdown/Lockout Drills
- Monthly Fire/Evacuation Drills,
- Bi-yearly Bus Evacuations Drills
- Safety Teams to Review our Operations
The administrative team, guidance counselors, teachers and staff keep the safety of the students in the forefront of all that they do. They are available and listening today and in the days to come to the emotional concerns that are coming forward because of the recent events. Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to Lori Lienhard-Director of Security, our school principals, and our guidance counselors. We will get through this together.
Here are some relevant resources to review:
Resources for Supporting Students and Families:
Parent Guidelines for Helping Youth After the Recent Shooting (The National Child Traumatic Stress Network – English/Spanish)
Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers (National Association of School Psychologists)
Coping in the Aftermath of a Shooting (American Counseling Association)
Trauma and Disaster Mental Health (American Counseling Association)
After a School Shooting - Resources (American Counseling Association)
Resource for Administrators:
Responding to School Violence: Tips for Administrators (National Association of School Psychologists)
Resource for School Board Directors:
PSBA complimentary webinar on the annual School Safety and Security Board Report, addressing important safety-related issues to discuss this year (log in to myPSBA)
General State and Federal School Safety Resources:
National School Safety
PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency – School Safety and Security
Safe2Say Something
PA K-12 Threat Assessment
Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency – School Safety Planning Resources