Friday, October 10, 2014

Safe at Home


Since my beloved Detroit Tigers are no longer playing baseball, I will uncharacteristically refrain from making a sports analogy with my blog title.

Where do you feel the safest?  When we were growing up, most likely, it was home with your parents.  It was a safe, nurturing, and loving environment and you just had the feeling that all was well when you were there.

We hear the same words to describe Sumner Academy from our parents.  They consistently report how their children feel safe, nurtured, and loved in our learning environment.  Most of these feelings come from the classroom.  Our students trust their teachers and perform for them academically in a way I have not experienced in my thirty-plus years in education.  Meeting this basic need allows our children to grow academically, socially, and physically without having to worry about being safe.

Being safe in schools has become more and more a topic of concern.  Moving here in the summer of 2013, one of the first local school articles I read was about the Sumner County Schools hiring resource police officers in every school.  They trumpeted this as a good thing.  I have been told this line item is close to a one million dollar cost per year.  What a disappointing commentary on today’s society.

When parents drop off their children at Sumner Academy, they have the knowledge, trust, and confidence that they will be safe.  Last year, the entire faculty and staff was involved in writing the school’s first Crisis Action Guide.  In the unlikely event of a crisis on campus, the guide gives a step-by-step process to follow.  Much time and energy (and cost) went into the publication of this guide which can be found in every room on campus.

We appreciate the way our parents care for our school and hope that they are able to convey that feeling to others who may be interested in becoming part of the Sumner Academy Family.