Hello everyone!
I wanted to start off this Weekly Community Update by giving a comment on community notifications regarding threats or investigations.
I understand that the vagueness of the emails we have to send is frustrating. However, while I do understand it, I have to be very general and very careful. Since we are so often talking about students in these types of notification emails, there are quite a few privacy laws that we have to be mindful of. I know everyone always wants more information, but, in almost all cases, I am quite literally unable to say more.
Sometimes, as was the case with the email earlier this week, we just want to make the community aware of something happening that's out of the ordinary, such as an investigation, because it's worse if we say nothing at all and you instead hear a rumor that may contain misinformation. I'd rather be as reassuring as possible, albeit frustratingly vague, as opposed to being seen as though I'm withholding information or trying to hide something from our community.
However, when I do send these notifications, one key purpose is to be specific about any actual dangers or threats to the campus, and to reassure the community that we not only took the proper measures to ensure the safety of our students, but honestly we usually take more precautions than necessary, erring on the side of being overprotective.
And, always, I'm going to be 100% honest. As I said in my email, there was no threat to the campus, and all of our students and staff are safe. We did not need to adjust the schedule for the day or put the school in any sort of standard response protocol, such as a secure, a hold, or a lockdown, as we would normally do in the case of threats. And if there was any reason for concern, my admin team, AISD PD, and I would have taken immediate action.
As always, my #1 goal is the safety and security of Anderson High School and its students and staff, and, though I can't always share everything, I do hope that is clear through my actions and the actions of my team. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to email me.
Also, just a quick reminder - No school on Monday, Oct 14!
That being said, let's get on to some updates and news!
