The School District of Philadelphia is the 8th largest school district in the United States with ‎202,538 students across 339 public schools (2018-2019).  We recently celebrated America’s Safe Schools Week (October 21-27, 2019) so safety is on all of our minds.

If you are looking to rent apartments in Philadelphia, and have school-age children, we wanted to share some tips on how your family can be proactive and avoid potentially harmful situations:

– Make sure your school has your child’s updated emergency contact information. Write down any specific instructions that should be followed in case of an emergency, and have the school keep them in your child’s file.

– Talk to your child’s teachers and alert them to any medical issues your child has. Also, explain to the teacher what he or she should do if the medical issues arise—such as an allergic reaction, asthma attack or seizure—and provide school personnel with emergency medication such as EpiPens^® (Epinephrine Auto-Injectors) and inhalers.

– Help your children memorize important phone numbers so that they know how to get in touch with you and other trusted adults. Also, make sure those numbers are programmed into their cell phones, or provide them with a list of phone numbers that they can keep in their backpacks or wallets at all times.

– Let your children know exactly who they can go home with after school if their regular ride can’t pick them up, and make sure they know not to accept rides from people who aren’t on the list.

– If your children will be walking to school, walk the route with them several times before classes start to make sure they understand traffic laws and can walk the route on their own. Also, find a friend or sibling they can walk with, and make sure they always use the buddy system.

– Show your children which neighbors they can go to in case no one is at home after school. 

School safety both on and off school grounds is a shared responsibility, we hope all of our residents consider these best practices and ensure the rest of the school year is safe and supportive of learning.