Dear Amana Parents,

 

We returned to school on Monday in a state of shock and sadness after seeing the tragic and senseless attacks unfold in Beirut and Paris these past few days by the heinous cult-gang that incorrectly calls itself "the Islamic state". Whenever events like these occur, a natural reaction is to be more safety conscious.   

Nothing is more important than the safety of our students; and our security protocols in our school reflect this.  Our school's safety and emergency plans are consistent with Fulton County standards and approved by the district's Safety Department, and our School Safety team regularly reviews security procedures throughout the school. 

There are a number of actions that we have taken over the years above and beyond the Fulton standards.

• Our school is the only Fulton County School to have a thorough security review by Homeland Security 4-years ago, and we implemented all their recommendations. They deemed us one of the safest schools in the district; and they pointed out that our location in a commercial zone actually enhances our security, because of the surrounding activity with plenty of witnesses and quick response time to emergency resources - less than 1 minute.

• After the Sandy Hook, CT school shootings in 2012, we took advantage of our nimbleness as a charter school and were among the first in Fulton County to take additional precautions by installing more security technology - something traditional Fulton schools waited months for approval from central office.  Amana is also the only school in Fulton County that regularly allows SWAT teams to train at our school when students are on summer break, which gives first responders real world training and familiarizes them with our specific floor plan.

• Our Resource Officer is an actual certified City Police Officer who carries a firearm. Detective Vincent Johnson has decades of experience, including Fulton schools experience, before joining the Alpharetta Police Department.  He will be the first one to tell us that we are ahead of other schools in doing the right things to ensure the safety of our students.

Additionally, we are taking extra precautions as follows:

• Detective Johnson will be providing an increased level of presence on our campus, and he is coordinating with Alpharetta Police for more frequent patrols.

• Staff members are following through on our established safety norms, including being extra vigilant and feeling empowered to report any concerns. 

 

Tragic shootings in the past decade by disturbed individuals around the Country have forced schools into a new reality when it comes to safety and security. With the help of Fulton County Schools Safety & Security Department and our local law enforcement authorities, our school has the right safety protocols in place and continues to look for ways to improve. We are crew, not passengers and we must ALL be involved in ensuring safety.  

 

If you have any questions, please email us at info@amanaacademy.org. 

Sincerely,

Cherisse Campbell, Principal

Ehab Jaleel, Executive Director