A message from Superintendent Jeff Talbert

Dear Alliance City School Families,

Today we were alerted to a potential social media threat regarding Alliance High School.  We placed AHS and all district schools into a shelter-in-place status, meaning all people inside the school were to remain in their rooms. After working collaboratively with the Alliance Police Department we determined that the threat was not credible and we lifted the shelter-in-place and released students on time.  

In light of this event and the numerous unrelated local and national school security incidents, I wanted to reach out to you and remind you that the safety of our students, staff, and visitors is always our top priority.  

Every school building in our district conducts regular safety drills, whether that be fire or tornado drills, shelter-in-place, or lockdown drills.  Our goal is to prepare our students for unexpected events.  We educate students about their options in an emergency and explain our expectations.

Each school building has a safety plan that was developed in conjunction with our police and fire departments and a representative of the Ohio Department of Homeland Security.  And in the last year, every school has reviewed and if necessary, updated security procedures.  Our high school and middle school have implemented the Raptor visitor management system to help track and manage all visitors to the schools.  This system will be implemented at all of our schools in near future.   Additionally, we have invested, and will continue to invest in, more robust and capable video surveillance and security camera systems. ACS has two uniformed police officers who guide us on security procedures and who assist us with issues within the school. Additionally, we have worked with the Alliance Police Department to have an  increased police presence into the foreseeable future.  

All of our planning, training and awareness may or may not stop a tragedy, but at a minimum we believe it will help mitigate a potentially dangerous situation.  But we cannot do it alone and we need your help.  If you have a weapon in your home, please verify TONIGHT that it is secure and that your child cannot access it.  If your child is experiencing trauma or other concerns, let your school or principal know.  Lastly, if you or your child sees or hears of any threat to our schools, we ask that you immediately report it to the school system, the police department and/or the Safe Schools Helpline at 844-SAFER-OH (844-723-3764).  As our national law enforcement experts recommend; if you “see something, say something.”

In addition, we recommend you renew your efforts to monitor your child’s social media activity and encourage them to report anything they see that they perceive as a threat. And please, don’t be afraid to ask for help for your own child or someone you know.

Please contact any principal or district administrator if we can be of any assistance or answer any questions.

Thank you again for entrusting your children to us.