When parents ask about how we keep students safe, one of the first things that comes to my mind is how do we keep students physically safe? That comes from within the walls at Ada Christian School but also dangers that could be outside.

We have addressed those topics to make certain that the school is secure for the children during the day yet still welcoming for the parents and families that come here.

Safety is a growing concern in a community and Ada has taken extra steps to make sure families and children feel safe.

We've made certain that teachers know how to react appropriately to whatever happens in or outside of the school. We have ongoing training through a national company that works without teachers to help them train for a number or different individualities.

From the very beginning, how the school was built, how it was designed, lends itself completely to a safe environment where we can protect our students inside.

We have a button in the facility that we can push or access remotely through the teacher's phones  or other gadgets where if they activate that system, a number of doors will automatically close, locking from the inside so the school will have a number of points of access that are sealed up because of that.  We want our school to be at the highest caliber that we can. So that includes our security system and what we do to make sure that our kids are secure.

What is also important are kid's hearts. To be in an environment where students feel safe to take a risk in raising their hands and answering a question. That they know when they're put into a group , and the teach says you're going to be in this group, they don't have to worry about someone going he's in our group. That's not okay at Ada Christian School.

We've learned from day one to include everybody in everything we do; whether we're playing tag at recess or we're having friends over at the end of the school . And it really helps in our relationships.

First of all, it's that they feel accepted, that's the biggest thing. When they come to the gym, I want them to know I want them in my gym. I want them there and I want to do the best for them.

As a classroom teacher, it's my responsibility to keep my eyes open, keep my ears open. We try to be really proactive on the little things at school. We talk about the 30 seconds interventions a lot. About stopping those small, little things that might be bothering somebody or teasing. Just putting a stop to that right away and saying, hey, that's not what we're going to be about here at Ada Christian. I would say that if you talk to most of our Ada Christian students, I think they would say they love it here, that the community is great and they do feel safe emotionally.