Garrettsville – Last week, our safety plans were put to a test, and it was clear that we were prepared on all fronts. The situation resulted in all students leaving our campus safely. We were prepared and could not have accomplished what we did without the help of our staff, law enforcement, students and community.
The Portage County Sherriff, Garrettsville PD, and Ohio State Highway Patrol responded immediately to our campus to ensure our kids’ safety. They assisted us in determining when it was safe to lift our lockdown and dismiss students then helped in escorting them to the various forms of transportation home.
Authorities were on site the next day and supports were available for our students if needed.
Our Schools all have emergency plans that are practiced on a regular basis. I want to commend the authorities, administrators, staff, students and community. They quickly implemented the plan, kept students calm and kept student safety at the forefront the entire lockdown.
Please rest assured that this person was located and there is no further threat.
Communication is paramount in situations such as these. If you are a parent in our district and have not setup your Edline account you can get assistance by calling your school’s secretary or visiting the district website.
If you are a resident and would like to keep informed you can follow the district on Facebook (facebook.com/jagschools) and/or Twitter (@jagschools). These are the official social media outlets for our district. They are updated frequently with the happenings within our district and are a very good source of information in emergencies such as the one we just experienced.
While situations such as this are very stressful, they are learning opportunities. Our administrative team has already met and debriefed (minute by minute) the entire situation and identified a few changes we will implement to further protect our students and communicate with our parents, students, community and news outlets.
Words cannot express how proud we are to serve such an outstanding community. The safety of your children is our number one priority.
Should you have any questions, please contact me directly in my office at 330.527.4336, tlysiak@jagschools.org or on my cell at 216.534.7413.
