On Wednesday, August 21st River Valley Community School District immersed itself in safety training. All staff including teachers, aids, cooks, custodians, and bus drivers were educated on CPR, Stop The Bleed, AEDs, and Human Trafficking. We also went through S.A.V.E. training for a Violent Intruder situation in the afternoon.
The staff was engaged throughout the day. We learned from Justin Pritts how the community views the school teachers and staff not only as teachers but also as "Protectors". As a district, we are reviewing and refining our system. We will continue to practice drills and situations throughout the year to improve our students' safety.
Special Thanks to the following:
Justin Pritts - Cherokee Emergency Management System (we appreciate the AED machine they donated to the Washta building) coordinated the resources in coming to River Valley.
Rebecca Socknat - Woodbury Emergency Management System (coordinated the Woodbury County Sheriff Department in helping with SAVE training). Rebecca and Justin work well together and they will help us with resources we need to be a safer school.
Trooper John Farley and Trooper Nick Erdmann in providing education on human trafficking. We will be having them back soon to share with our students and community. This is not big city problem. It happens in rural Iowa too and we need to be observant and learn what to look for.
Chris Jansen - Woodbury County Sheriff's Department with Charlie Hertz and Don Armstrong - Reviewed SAVE Training and answered questions about "what if(s)" Through the drills we were able to see how well the sleeves work to keep the doors secure from entry. 
Kevin Handke - St. Lukes Paramedic - Kevin is a 1986 Eastwood Graduate. A special thanks to Kevin for supplying 10 stop the bleed kits to the school system. Kevin's experience as a paramedic is mind boggling. He was a great resource and teacher of the skills we need in case of an emergency. (Note: all staff was educated on CPR but we did not certify teachers). All coaches at River Valley are certified in CPR.
Mr. Phillips learns how to apply tourniquet with assistance from Tonya Carstens.