Community Night Rewind and Board Policy 804.5

 Hello everyone,

 

Recently,  AHSTW Community School District held an informational night for students, parents, and community members to learn more about the topics facing all of us in today’s society.  The information shared by Deputy Kava, Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, on internet and social media safety, and Mr. Deric Kidd, a public speaker from Carlisle, IA, on the topic of drug use, overdose and poisoning, helped us understand those challenges at a greater level in addition to the importance of recognizing warning signs to assist our students. For that, I am thankful.

 

Although, Mr. Kidd’s message shared the unfortunate and tragic consequences of drug use, he also talked about the ‘Why of Drug Use’ and how our understanding of the ‘Why’ can assist us in helping the youth of our five communities in their efforts to resist substances.  The following items are examples of the ‘Why’.

 

Reasons to begin experimentation
·       Anxiety / Depression	·       Inclusion into friend groups
·       Trauma	·       Bullying
·       Peer Pressure	·       Surgery/Pain
·       Boredom	·       Experimentation
·       Grief	·       Social Media

 

We hope that by sharing the concepts above we all become more aware situations that may encourage experimentation in order to become more proactive in assisting each other, both young and old.  

 

Fortunately, additional steps are being taken to protect students across the State of Iowa.  The first protections are coming through the development of an app to assist individuals in asking for help or reporting events or potential actions in which friends are at-risk. The hotline will hopefully be shared prior to the end of the 2022-2023 school year.

 

The Iowa State House of Representatives and Iowa Senate during last year’s legislative session determined health risks for students to be at a risk level high enough to provide Iowa School Districts with the ability to purchase and stock certain medications in our health offices.  One such medication is the opioid antagonist, Narcan.  Narcan is a medication designed to counteract the symptoms of drug overdose or drug poisoning.  This is a step that no one believed would ever be necessary.  However, the legislative action did provide us and the AHSTW Board of Education the ability to discuss, modify, and adopt an updated version of Board Policy 804.5, which we did with the hope the medications would never be needed.  In addition to Narcan, the policy also provides districts with the ability to purchase and stock epinephrine and bronchodilators for the health and safety of our students.

 

We understand you may have questions on the topics associated with this letter and welcome any conversations on the topics.  So, please feel free to contact Mrs. Lane, Mrs. Kock, Mrs. Rold, Mr. Embrock or myself with those questions at 712-343-6364.

 

Respectfully,

 

Mr. Darin Jones

Superintendent

AHSTW Community School District

AHSTW CSD Buildings Are Proactive and Safe with Radon

 AHSTW CSD Schools Are Proactive and Safe with Radon

 

Recently, AHSTW Community School District completed the process of testing our building(s) for radon. We recently received good news: Our test results came back below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) advised radon action level of 4.0 pCi/L. This means we now have peace of mind that our students, staff and community are learning in spaces that are as safe as possible from radon.

What is radon and why does it matter? Radon gas cannot be seen, smelled or tasted, and moves upward through cracks and other openings in the foundations of buildings from the soil under a building. In the United States, radon is the leading cause of lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers.

The State of Iowa requires radon testing at least once every 5 years for all Iowa public school attendance centers, licensed preschools and licensed child care centers.

To learn how to accurately do the initial radon testing ourselves, we saved taxpayer dollars by receiving training from the School Radon Training & Support System facilitated by Energy Association of Iowa Schools (EAIS). If we would have found elevated radon in our school, EAIS would have coached us through the process of fixing it. EAIS also helped us proactively place our school building on a multi-year rotating radon test schedule so we can continue to ensure radon safety in the future.

For most students and staff, research suggests that schools are actually the second largest contributor to radon exposure. The home is likely to be the most significant source of radon exposure. Please test your home for radon and if necessary, take action to reduce the risk of lung cancer by reducing elevated radon concentrations. 

If you have questions regarding radon testing for AHSTW Community School District, please feel free to contact Mr. Darin Jones, Superintendent, at 712 -343-6364. More information regarding residential radon testing can be found at www.epa.gov/radon.

Respectfully,

 

Mr. Darin Jones

Superintendent

AHSTW Community School District