Safe Arrival program operating on the island

A Safe Arrival program in some Shelburne County schools ensures parents are contacted as soon as a child is noticed absent.

Joseph Hazelton, communications officer for the Tri-County Regional School Board, says that although the Board has no written policy on the issue, some of their schools, particularly at the elementary level, have school-based procedures in place to verify students’ whereabouts when they are absent without prior notice.

‘Board-wide we also take the proactive approach of educating students very early on as to the potential dangers that can present themselves and how to act in those situations; as well as how take steps to avoid potentially dangerous situations to begin with,” he said.

Lesley Smith, principal for Clark’s Harbour Elementary and Cape Sable Island Elementary schools says her schools have had a Safe Arrival program in place for the last 10 years.

“It came from a Home and a School (Association) request whereby parents wanted to be certain that their child got to school and for the school to be certain that if the child is not in school they are where they are safe and secure, where they are supposed to be,” she said.

Parents can call these schools in the morning and leave a message on an answering machine if their child is going to be late or absent. The information is cross-referenced with attendance and volunteers call parents who have not notified the school of their child’s whereabouts.