Sunday evening, Jan. 7
Dear Ram Family,
As students are arriving back to school tomorrow morning, we understand and empathize with the fears and concerns that you may be having sending your child back to school.
Our teams at each school have been planning for this arrival to ensure that our students are safe, secure, and supported after the tragedy that unfolded in Perry last week.
We also want to provide you with some transparency regarding the conversations our teachers and staff will be having with students regarding the events and let students have the opportunity to share their thoughts. Our administrators, teachers, and staff will be having age appropriate conversations with students and they will touch on the following points in student’s homeroom (Base Camp or Advisory) classes: – Acknowledging the events and situation that occurred – Express our condolences for those who have been impacted – Empathy for the range of emotions that this will cause – Identify the actions being taken at the district level.
Jefferson Police will have officers present at all three schools throughout the week. They will be patrolling hallways, maintaining a presence at the buildings during most arrival and dismissal times, and be available to students and staff as needed. As a district, we will continue to partner with the Jefferson Police Department to investigate any inappropriate comments, actions, or social media posts that would cause a threat to school safety.
Greene County Schools and the Jefferson Police Department are being vigilant to ensure safety at our schools and within our community. Inappropriate comments or posts we have been made aware of at this time have been thoroughly investigated and deemed not credible by both the Jefferson Police and county magistrate. We want to formally extend our gratitude to the Jefferson Police Department for their willingness and preparedness for our students and schools.
All staff will be practicing our Lockdown drill on Monday during the early release Professional Development time to ensure that these drills, processes, and procedures are effective. As a district, we will then be organizing a district-wide lockdown drill, including all students, with communication coming to all families with more specifics on the date and time as to when that will happen.
Lastly, our high school student council invites all Greene County Schools to participate in a unified showing of support for the students, staff, and community of Perry. We are encouraging all of our students and staff to wear blue in support of Perry on Monday, Jan. 8.
Again, we want to thank you in partnering with our schools to ensure that we can make this a safe return back to school. Please reach out to the building administrators with any additional questions you may have.
Thank you, Brett Abbotts, Superintendent Greene County Community School District
