Keystone Oaks Releases Statement on Sandy Hook Shooting

Keystone Oaks School District released a statement Monday regarding the school shooting in Newtown, Conn.

The following message from district William P. Stropkaj is posted on the Keystone Oaks School District website:

"Dear Parents, Guardians, Community Members, Teachers, and Staff:

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and staff of Sandy Hook  Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, who experienced a horrific tragedy on Friday, December 14, 2012. This tragedy truly gives us cause to focus on ensuring that our children are safe in our schools each and every day.

We are all deeply disturbed by this most recent event of school violence and t he District's Administration will be reassessing the safety procedures, security measures, and preventive measures in our schools.

After so much has been in the media regarding this tragedy, it is understandable that our children may have questions or concerns. A resource that you may find useful is "Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers" from the National Association of School Psychologists. We all need to be open to listening to our children talk about their feelings and reactions to this incident; this link will provide some tips for listening to our children."

Sincerely,

William P. Stropkaj
Superintendent

A copy of "Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers" is attached to this article as a PDF document.

In addition, district communications director James Cromie said the district has worked diligently to create safe schools and has safety procedures in place for each building. The procedures are constantly being reviewed and refined by  administrators, faculty and staff, and the district conducts regular training with local police, fire and EMS for potential emergency incidents, he said.

Cromie said school police officer Aaron Vanatta serves all five district schools, including Dormont Elementary, Fred L. Aiken Elementary, Myrtle Elementary, Keystone Oaks High School and Keystone Oaks Middle School.

Chartiers Valley School District and Upper St. Clair School District also released statements regarding the incident.

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