This is what USC is doing.UPDATED

We live in a school district where the superintendent laughed when he heard about swastikas drawn in Washington Elementary playground mulch. This is what Upper St. Clair is doing.

From: Upper St. Clair School District <tvojtko@uscsd.k12.pa.us>
Date: Sun, Oct 28, 2018, 4:06 PM
Subject: USCSD: School counselors available
To: Upper St. Clair Families

Dear Upper St. Clair Families:

Our region, our nation, and the world are stunned by the horrific event that occurred Saturday morning at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill. For our families that have been affected directly or indirectly, please know we are here for you.

As adults, it is challenging to find the right words in the face of such adversity. Imagine how difficult it can be for our children. Below please find several resources for talking with children about tragic events.

• Talking with Children about Tragic Events, The National Center for Grieving Children & Families
• Talking to Children About Tragedies & Other News Events, American Academy of Pediatrics
• How to talk to children about difficult news, American Psychological Association

I hope these are helpful to you as we try to move forward together, while supporting our Jewish community and those who have been impacted by this senseless and unimaginable violence. Please know that our school counselors are here to help if your child shows any signs of distress.

Tomorrow and Tuesday are scheduled professional development days for district staff, with no school scheduled for students. However, school counselors will be in the buildings and available if your child needs them prior to returning to school on Wednesday. A full listing of the district’s school counselors, including contact information, is provided below. If you are unable to reach your child’s counselor directly, please contact the main office for assistance. 

We offer our deepest sympathy to those who have been affected by this tragic event. As always, our district staff will be there to support our students.

Sincerely yours,

Dr. John T. Rozzo
Superintendent of Schools

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School Counselors

Baker Elementary
Kristin Rose: 412-833-1600, ext. 4010  |  krose@uscsd.k12.pa.us

Eisenhower Elementary
Amy Miller: 412-833-1600, ext. 8010  | amiller@uscsd.k12.pa.us

Streams Elementary
Leslie Smirniw: 412-833-1600, ext. 6010  |  lsmirniw@uscsd.k12.pa.us

Boyce Middle School
Amy Antonio, 5th Grade Counselor:  412-833-1600, ext. 5011  |  aantonio@uscsd.k12.pa.us
Tonia Autieri, 6th Grade Counselor:  412-833-1600, ext. 5010  |  tautieri@uscsd.k12.pa.us

Fort Couch Middle School
Jace Palmer, 8th Grade Counselor:  412-833-1600, ext. 3011  |  jpalmer@uscsd.k12.pa.us
Lauren Madia, 7th Grade Counselor:  412-833-1600, ext. 3010  |  lmadia@uscsd.k12.pa.us

Upper St. Clair High School 
(click here for counselor assignments)
Jennifer Kirk: 412-833-1600, ext. 2403  |  jkirk@uscsd.k12.pa.us
Jerry Malarkey: 412-833-1600, ext. 2401  |  jmalarkey@uscsd.k12.pa.us
Thomas Marquis:  412-833-1600, ext. 2406  |  tmarquis@uscsd.k12.pa.us
Gordon Mathews:  412-833-1600, ext. 2402  |  gmathews@uscsd.k12.pa.us
Kristin Pardini:  412-833-1600, ext. 2404  |  kpardini@uscsd.k12.pa.us
William Rullo:  412-833-1600, ext. 2400  |  brullo@uscsd.k12.pa.us

Update October 29, 2018 3:40 PM

In Response to the Tree of Life Shooting: Community Resources

Letter to Parents from Dr. Timothy Steinhauer

Police Investigating Anti-Semitic Message In Mt. Lebanon

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2017/05/30/anti-semitic-message-found-mt-lebanon/

Must read UPDATED

This was in the "Must Read" section of the PG over the weekend.

Mt. Lebanon police probing racist, anti-Semitic graffiti at schools and football field

Someone sent me a link to this local blog, covering this topic. Mt. Lebanon resident Dr. Anthony Moretti is the Director of the Center for Innovative Teaching and Directed Engaged Learning at Robert Morris University, where he also is an Associate Professor in the School of Communications and Information Systems.

An ugly three weeks for the Mt. Lebanon School District

Update December 5, 2016 7:15 PM From the Middle School Principals today:

From: Mellon Middle School <noreply@mtlsd.net>
Sent: Monday, December 5, 2016
To: Middle School Parents
Subject: Message to Parents

Middle School Families,

We are writing to follow up on the recent email you received from our Superintendent. Please know that a safe school is our number one priority. Establishing an inclusive and welcoming environment is essential to that priority. We feel very strongly that the recent incidents at our middle schools are not reflective of our students, faculty, or staff.

We have taken several steps to address the recent incidents that are contrary to our inclusive and welcoming culture. As principals, we met with our respective faculties to review these issues and reinforce our expectations for reporting and responding. We also reported details of the incidents to the Mt. Lebanon Police Department, PTA leaders, and local religious leaders. Our local Rabbis have been reliable partners as we formulated plans to take appropriate further steps.

Our programs, designed to foster an inclusive and welcoming environment, begin early in a child’s educational career and occur on a regular basis. This includes our middle school anti-bullying program known more commonly as “Tuesday Talk” that is grounded in the research-based tenets of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. Themes that are discussed annually in our “Tuesday Talk” program include: respect, acceptance, empathy, and appreciation of diversity.  

Our most recent “Tuesday Talk” focused on two essential questions - 1) How do we make other people feel welcome in our classrooms and school? and 2) How do we improve upon the inclusive community so all students feel valued? It was a productive conversation that affirmed our positive beliefs about our students. Our work on this topic will continue.   

As parents, you can support our efforts by continuing to have conversations with your child(ren) around the theme of helping others to feel welcome and valued.  If you learn of inappropriate, discriminatory, or intimidating behavior occurring in our schools, please contact a teacher, counselor, or ourselves.  We will immediately investigate and appropriately address any concerns.  

We continue to believe we have caring students and exemplary schools.

As always, our doors are open to you. If you have further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Kelly Szesterniak                    Christopher Wolfson

Principal - JMS                        Principal - MMS