Sioux City Community Schools to host school safety meetings
The Sioux City Community School District takes student safety extremely serious. I know as a parent, you also have the utmost concern about your child’s safety. In understanding this, I want to provide an opportunity for you to meet with our school officials in person to hear an in-depth discussion about school safety in our District.
The Sioux City Community School District is offering three opportunities for parents and community members to join us for a meeting that will cover how staff and students are trained for crisis, what precautions we take to try and prevent crisis, and the everyday safety practices currently in place.
Please join us at one of the following meetings:
Tuesday, April 10 at 6 pm in the North High Auditorium
Thursday, April 12 at 4 pm in the West High Auditorium
Thursday, April 12 at 7 pm in the East High Auditorium
School safety and crisis preparation are always top-of-mind for District officials. I recognize the importance of keeping you informed about our practices and procedures, too. So, in addition to these meetings, I also want to take a moment in this letter to inform you about one important safety measure being reiterated in all schools currently.
Chad Sheehan, a 23-year veteran of law enforcement, and the founder of the S.A.V.E. Yourself® program, has provided training in our District in previous years. We have plans to work with Chad this school year still and to bring him back for an in-depth training with all staff at the start of next school year.
For this year, Chad joined administrators for a refresher S.A.V.E. Yourself® training in early April. Then, throughout April, our administrators will review this training with building staff. This training is a powerful way to ensure staff are educated and empowered to make real time decisions in the event of a crisis. Educators will also share important aspects of this training with students in an age-appropriate discussion. By bringing students into the conversation, we can ensure that everyone has the tools and skills needed to react quickly and rationally in the event of a crisis. When you join us for one of the three safety meetings, we will cover this topic more extensively. It is important that parents and guardians understand the training that takes place in our schools, so you can continue these important conversations at home.
Thank you and I look forward to seeing you at an upcoming meeting.
Dr. Paul R. Gausman
Superintendent
Sioux City Community School District