Railroad Safety 

January 11, 2018

Dear East Middle School Community:

I recently spoke with Special Agent Michael Kaminsky from the Norfolk Southern Railroad Police Department regarding a dramatic increase in train traffic on the local rails and especially in the local rail yards. One of the concerns that we discussed is that the Railroad Police are seeing school aged students trespass on Railroad property on a daily basis and dangerously close to moving trains.
As recently as September 2017 a local Endicott resident was killed on the Railroad tracks. In 2016, 54 trespassers were struck by passenger and freight trains in New York. All of those incidents were preventable.
Please remind your children that railroad tracks, trestles and rail yards are no place for pedestrians. On any track, trains can come from either direction at any time, and the best way to stay safe is to stay away.
Here are few tips that might save a life: (from Evan Eisenhandler, www.oli.org)
• Cross train tracks only at designated pedestrian or roadway crossings, and obey all warning signs and signals.
• Railroad tracks, bridges, yards and equipment are private property, and trespassers are subject to arrest and fine.
• It can take a mile or more to stop a train because of its size and weight; any approaching train is always closer and moving faster than you think.
• Never play or walk on the tracks, or use train tracks as a shortcut. It’s dangerous and illegal.
• Stay alert around railroad tracks — no texting, gaming, headphones or other distractions that would prevent you from hearing an approaching train.
I addressed the entire student body on Thursday January 11, 2018 on this very important issue.
Please speak with your children and help them stay safe and please keep your kids off the tracks.
Sincerely,

Tim Simonds,
Principal

Alleged Indirect Threat to EMS

May 11, 2018

Dear East Middle School Parents and Guardians,

This morning, we learned of a Snapchat post allegedly sent by one of our students that contained an indirect threat to 8th grade students at East Middle School. We also received a forwarded copy of the posting with an overlay that stated “Don’t go to school Monday @ people who go to East.” Our administrative team quickly began an investigation and consulted with our School Resource Officer.

We contacted the student’s parent who is working with us to remove the posting.
We believe that East Middle School is safe, there is currently no credible direct threat of harm to East Middle School, and that our students are safe to attend school on Monday morning.
We want to thank the parents and students who brought this to our attention, and we urge all parents to encourage your children to let us know anytime they hear or see anything that may not be safe. They do not have to worry about whether or not it is real. The administration and law enforcement will investigate each concern to make that determination.

Additionally, please speak with your children about how important it is to use good judgement, especially on social media, and to refrain from engaging in any sort of threat. Threats, whether true of false, are serious to us all. Students sending threats will face disciplinary consequences according to the BCSD Code of Conduct.

If you have a concern about student safety you wish for us to investigate, please contact us. We take every concern seriously and will always follow through to investigate and ensure the safety of our students, staff, and community.

Thank you all for helping us stay safe. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected] or call at 607-762-8300

Sincerely,

Tim Simonds
Principal