Attention interested qualified administrative candidates:
Gardner-Dickinson is searching for Principal candidates for the 23-24 school year! Please find an informational flyer by clicking here.
Please apply on OLAS or Indeed. Thank you!
Attention interested qualified administrative candidates:
Gardner-Dickinson is searching for Principal candidates for the 23-24 school year! Please find an informational flyer by clicking here.
Please apply on OLAS or Indeed. Thank you!
Dear Families and Staff:
Today, several 911 centers received swatting phone calls indicating an active shooter at local school districts. Ultimately, these threats proved to be false after investigations by law enforcement.
In response, Wynantskill initiated our emergency procedures including a lockout while law enforcement investigated. Several other schools also implemented lockouts due to these outside threats.
Please note that a lockdown is called when there is something dangerous inside a building while a lockout (or secure) occurs when there is something dangerous outside a building. This is an important distinction that changes the response of a building and law enforcement.
Swatting incidents are threats made with the purpose of triggering a police (or SWAT team) response to a particular address and creating mass fear and panic. The perpetrators often use computer-generated calls and caller-ID spoofing to disguise their numbers, which may be coming from outside of the country.
Several states have experienced similar swatting calls. Over the past two days, it has been reported that these calls have impacted schools in the Adirondacks, Buffalo, Hudson Valley, Central New York and Westchester in New York and Berkshire County in Massachusetts.
We know many of our families, students, and staff are understandably concerned about school safety, especially considering Monday’s shooting in Nashville. Please know that the health, safety and well-being of our students and staff is our top priority. We take all reports of threats seriously. We have developed plans for each of our buildings, including secured entryways, emergency drills, and relationships with law enforcement.
I want to thank everyone for their patience and cooperation. While these threats are concerning, we ask that you please keep a sense of calm and cooperation. This is an opportune time to remind you of the importance of reporting anything out of the ordinary. As always, we will continue to ensure that our exterior doors and windows are secured and that we are screening all visitors at building entrances before letting them inside.
Thank you
Wynantskill UFSD
At this time there is a “Swatting” case in a local district. This is where someone calls 911 and says there is an emergency and/or active shooter in the school to get a police response.
At this time NG Police confirms that it is a swatting and that we don’t have to call a lockout but just to be overly cautious, we are going to go into a lockout due to the police activity in the area. This means classes are as usual but we will not exit the building nor let anyone in unless we know them and their business.
Three Rensselaer Co. Sheriffs are here in the building and will be staying with us until this is over.
Thank you,
Dr. Yodis
Please click here to view the March edition of the middle school newspaper club’s Royal Report!
A round of applause to these student journalists for putting together these awesome articles, interviews, recipes, and more!
REMINDER: Wynantskill PTA will be hosting a Digital Safety Family Conversation this Thursday, March 30th in the GD Cafeteria.
Attention GD Families:
Gardner-Dickinson’s power issues have been resolved – we can’t wait to see all of our students tomorrow!
As a reminder: there will be no school on Friday, March 17th for Regional Staff Development Day.
Thank you!
Due to the ongoing poor weather and travel conditions, Wynantskill UFSD will have a 2-hour delay tomorrow, Wednesday, March 15th. Please stay tuned to our website, social media, and email/text alerts for further possible updates.
Thank you!
Attention Wynantskill UFSD Families:
Due to the impending storm with the likelihood of power outages and State of Emergency declared by the Governor and our local Rensselaer Co., there will be no in-person/remote learning tomorrow Tuesday, March 14th, 2023. Students may enjoy a traditional snow day.
As you are aware, our District used up this year’s allocated snow days. However, due to the State of Emergency declaration, the school will not be penalized for using an emergency day and this will not cause us to change any scheduled days off.
Please stay tuned for updates regarding delays/remote status for Wednesday, March 15th by checking out social media, website, and local TV stations.
For more information regarding the State of Emergency declared by the Governor, click here: https://www.governor.ny.gov/executive-order/no-27-declaring-disaster-emergency-counties-albany-broome-cayuga-chenango-columbia
Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions, and stay safe!
Wynantskill UFSD