Manchester Community Schools receive Heart Safe banners

Klager principal Karin Villarreal (left) receives the HeartSafe banner from the American Heart Association's Kerry Brosnan at last week's school board meeting. Photo courtesy of Manchester Community Schools.

Last October we reported that all three of Manchester's K - 12 schools received the "HEARTSafe" designation from the state of Michigan. In order for a school to receive a MI HEARTSafe School designation, it must perform at least one cardiac emergency response drill per year; have a written medical emergency response plan and team; have current CPR/AED certification of at least 10 percent of staff, 100 percent of head varsity coaches, and 50 percent of P.E. staff; have accessible, properly maintained, and inspected AEDs. with signs identifying their location; and ensure pre-participation sports screening of all student athletes using the current physical and history form endorsed by the Michigan High School Athletic Association.

Klager principal Karin Villarreal was on hand to receive Klager's banner from Kerry Brosnan from the American Heart Association at last week's school board meeting. The Middle School and the High School will also receive banners but the principals were not at the Board meeting. Superintendent Cherie Vannatter reported, "Kerry Brosnan told the Board that it was very unusual for all buildings within a district to be designated as Heart Safe Schools. In fact she does not know of any current districts where all buildings have met the criteria. She said we should be very proud of our district and its commitment to keeping students and staff safe."

The Klager banner will be displayed inside the lobby of the school.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.