South Colonie Central School District is committed to the safety and security of our students and staff. All members of our school community have a role in school safety, and knowing how to respond in the event of an emergency is an important part of this. 

In addition to the regular communication channels used to notify parents of changes to schedules, school closings/delays, and other time-sensitive information. The district will communicate with families through a direct automatic phone communications system (ParentSquare) to parents and guardians.

The success of this notification system depends upon the district’s system calling the correct phone numbers in order of priority. Please make sure your child’s school has this information updated regularly each school year, when you purchase a new cell phone, if you move, if you change daycare providers, etc. The first phone number on the priority list will be used as the primary emergency contact phone number. Then, if additional numbers are available and are made available to our database, the system will also contact those numbers. If there are parents/guardians living in separate locations, please include the phone numbers for them as the additional contact numbers.

• While this system offer numerous advantages, it however, it cannot dial extension numbers. Therefore, please use a number that will directly reach you.

Building good character in children starts at a very early age. That’s what character education is all about. Character education is a curriculum aimed at promoting values of common decency, compassion, tolerance and good citizenship at all age levels. It is meant to complement the three “R”s, technology and all of the other educational tools we use to produce successful graduates.

Teachers incorporate character development right into their lesson plans. In many buildings it starts with the morning assembly program where staff highlight a particular virtue through role-playing, instruction, song and discussion. Special guests help bring each virtue to life. A “word or quality of the month” is the focus in our schools and it is reinforced in the classrooms with special activities, readings, writing and art assignments, research, computer lessons and more. These qualities include responsibility, self-discipline, cooperation and friendship, among others.

Through character education, our elementary schools teach children to develop good self-esteem as a product of responsible behavior, assume responsibility for their actions, know right from wrong, respect the rights of others, maximize their own time and talents, work cooperatively with others, develop decision-making and problem-solving skills and resist negative peer pressure.

South Colonie Schools, working in partnership with the Colonie Police Department, has been an active participant in the D.A.R.E. program for many years. D.A.R.E. stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education and much more! D.A.R.E. is a highly acclaimed program that gives middle school kids the skills they need to avoid involvement in drugs, gangs, and violence. D.A.R.E. was founded in 1983 in Los Angeles and has proven so successful that it is now being implemented in 75 percent of the nation’s school districts and in more than 43 countries around the world. D.A.R.E. is a police officer-led series of classroom lessons that teaches children how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives. Lessons focus on providing students with accurate information about alcohol and drugs, teaching students decision-making skills, showing students how to resist peer pressure and giving students ideas for alternatives to drug use and violence.

Each fall, South Colonie Schools sends its students home 15 minutes early to test its Emergency Management Plan. The date is listed each school year on the district calendar. The “Go Home Early Drill” is required once a year by the New York State Education Department. The drill date is published each year in the district calendar. The purpose of the early dismissal drill is to test the effectiveness of the transportation and communications systems in the event of an emergency. Copies of the Emergency Management Plan are located in the Principal’s Office of each school, and at the District Office, 102 Loralee Drive, Albany.