District administrator's corner

by Loren Glasbrenner,  River Valley School District Administrator As summer is just around the corner, students will be walking and biking to activities.  Friends will be meeting at parks or the pool enjoying our summer weather.  It is always beneficial to consider reminders to keep children safe while out and about.  Even though statistics show that crime against children by strangers is rare, here are a few reminders to review with younger students to help protect your children: • Tell your children that when they are alone, avoid talking to people/strangers they don’t know. • Make sure your children know never to walk away with strangers. • Make sure your children understand that they should always talk to you about other people approaching them, and never to keep this secret. • Increase these conversations about safety with your children especially when traveling. • Tell your children that if they ever get lost, ask for help from a police officer, another grown-up with children, or someone working at a nearby shop. • Even with access to cell phones, have your children learn their address and telephone number by heart. During the last week of school, the district will be sending home with all elementary students a National Child Identification Program envelope.  In coordination with local school districts, Alliant Energy, the Green Bay Packers, the Department of Justice, and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) have teamed up to provide every learner in Wisconsin with an identification kit.  The kit is a fillable brochure of personal information that is hopefully never needed. In the event of a missing child, this kit will help provide law enforcement with essential and vital information. The kits are confidential and are designed to be completed and stored securely at your home.  The information is only turned over by you to law enforcement in the event of an emergency. The kit includes a process for retaining fingerprints, DNA, physical description, medical records, dental records, and a recent photo.  It is our hope that no River Valley family will ever have to use this information in an emergency, but this system may offer our families some peace of mind and help our local authorities during an emergency.