Crisis Response Sample Letter - Brentwood Borough School District

CRISIS RESPONSESAMPLE LETTERSSAMPLE LETTERSIT IS A GOOD IDEA TO HAVE A LETTERALREADY ON YOUR COMPUTER, SO YOUCAN JUST FILL IN THE DETAILS IF ACRISIS OCCURS.

CRISIS RESPONSESAMPLE LETTERS(Date)Dear Parents:A serious incident occurred at (Name of School) on (Date). At approximately (Time) afight occurred in the hallway among four ninth-grade students. During the fight, one ofthe students pulled a knife and injured two other students. The fight was quicklycontrolled by administration and staff members. The injured students were taken to thehospital where they received medical attention. At this time, we are unaware of the fullextent of injuries. The student with the weapon was removed from school and is in thecustody of the _______ Police Department. Students were held in their first-hour class asa precaution until I felt it was appropriate to resume a normal schedule.The school’s schedule for (Date), will be as usual., and additional support and counselingstaff members will be available. The students and staff members were extraordinarilycooperative in working through this difficult situation.We regret that this incident occurred. As always, feel free to call any member of theadministrative staff if you need additional information about this situation. The mainnumber is (Phone Number).Sincerely,(Principal’s Name)Principal

CRISIS RESPONSESAMPLE LETTERS(Date)Dear Parents:Today at approximately (Time) a fight broke out in the main hallway at (School). Twofemale students, a ninth- and a tenth-grader, were involved in the fight. The staff wasaware of an ongoing conflict between the two girls and had been attempting to defuse thesituation. During the fight, the younger girl pulled a small-caliber gun from her backpocket and fired several shots hitting the other girl several times. An eleventh-grade malestudent who was in the area was hit in the leg by a stray bullet. The student who fired thegun was also injured with a wound to the hand. Emergency services and the police werecalled. The gun was confiscated. All three injured students were transported to thehospital for medical attention. The police/sheriff officers are currently conducting aninvestigation of the incident. The individual responsible for this incident is currently inpolice/sheriff custody.It is our intention that school will operate on a normal basis tomorrow. Security will beincreased as a precautionary measure. I can assure you that we are taking every measurepossible to return to normal operation immediately. Call me at school, (Phone Number),if I may be of further service regarding this incident.Sincerely,(Principal’s Name)Principal

CRISIS RESPONSESAMPLE LETTERS(Date)Dear Parents:I am sending this letter to keep you informed about what has been happening at (School)the past few days. On (Date), a fight occurred between several girls in the hallway. Wehad been working with the students who were involved and felt that we had the issuesresolved, but problems emerged again on Thursday when two groups of students lined upwith the apparent intent to fight. When asked to disperse, all students complied exceptone who was defiant to the administrator who was present. That young man has beensuspended and a recommendation will be made to expel him from school. On (Date)several fights broke out throughout the afternoon. We do not know if these were relatedor not. Some of the fights were between girls, some between boys, some of the fightswere with the same race, and some were mixed race.We brought extra security and _______ Police Department officers into the building. Weheard many rumors about weapons, gang involvement and other incidents, and these haveall been followed up. In our search, we did not find any weapons or gang-relatedactivities. Each and every telephone call and student concern has been investigated. Itappears that we will have 12 to 14 suspensions and several expulsions as a result of theseincidents.We encourage you to sit down with your student and discuss the events of the past fewdays. If your student was involved in any of these activities or observed any of them,please share with them that disruptive behavior will not be tolerated and that furtheractions could result in them being removed from school.I believe that school is a place of learning, and we will strive to provide a safeenvironment so that learning can occur. We want your student to be here. If you havefurther questions or would like to talk to me, call me at (Phone Number).Sincerely,(Principal’s Name)Principal

CRISIS RESPONSESAMPLE LETTERS(Date)TO:FROM:SUBJECT:Parents and Students(Principal/School)SECURITY INCIDENT AT SCHOOLOn (Date, Time) a student was the victim of an armed robbery. The student was shakenbut unharmed when someone stole a pair of tennis shoes from him.I wish to share this information with you as part of our plan for school safety. This eventis an isolated incident that frightens all of us. The incident occurred 35 minutes afterschool was dismissed and only three students, administration, faculty members andsecurity were in the building. The two people who committed this crime left the buildingimmediately. There was no evidence of gang involvement, and the robbers were notstudents at our school. A police report was filed.At school, we are reviewing our security program. Students will receive informationabout this incident from their first-hour teachers on (Date). They will also receiveadditional information about safety and security for themselves and their schoolcommunity. A safe school is the first step in a positive learning environment. I amcommitted to the mission of (School) and I will do all I can with the support of our entireschool community and resources to insure a safe school.If you have any questions, call me at home, (Phone Number) or at school, (PhoneNumber). Thank you for your support and commitment to (School).

CRISIS RESPONSESAMPLE LETTERS(Date)TO:FROM:SUBJECT:Faculty Members(Principal/School)SPECIAL FACULTY MEETINGThe purpose of this meeting is to present information regarding the incident of armedrobbery on (Date) Refer to the parent memo of (Date) so you will be prepared to presentthese facts to students and parents. Additional information will be presented related toschool security and student safety.During your first-hour classes, I am requesting that you give the facts of the incident tothe students, and assure them that we are working to prevent this from happening again.Your leadership is essential to the re-establishment of an atmosphere of safety. A specialmeeting that will include the superintendent and district personnel will take placefollowing this meeting to address all safety concerns.

CRISIS RESPONSESAMPLE LETTERSDateDear Parents:We are sad to inform you that (name), a (relationship to the school) died (day, date). Amemorial service will be announced by (name of family member) –get family approval inwriting to use this. Counseling will be provided for students at school for those who wishto speak to someone.When a death occurs, it often helps a young person to discuss it. You may notice thatyour child may wish to discuss the death with you. As always, please feel free to call meif our staff can assist you in dealing with this sad situation. Our main phone number is(phone number).Sincerely,(Principal’s Name)Principal