CHS Class Will "Adopt" Coach Salfas When He Goes to Iraq

Christiana High School School Resource Officer and Assistant Basketball and Baseball Coach Dan Salfas will be deployed to the Middle East at the end of December, but for many students he will continue to be a presence at the school.  History teacher Barbara Land's A.P. U.S. History class will be “adopting” Salfas while he is in the Middle East, communicating with him via webcam from their classroom, as well as sending him personal care packages. Detective Salfas has explained that because he has been so active in so many aspects of the school, he wanted to have an educational impact on students while he was away, so that they understand what occurs when a soldier is sent to war.  Salfas has found the student and staff reaction to be very positive and eye-opening, because to many students and staff members,  he is the first person they have known who has gone off to war.

Since advising the School Administration of his active military status, Detective Salfas has been invited to speak to many of the history classes, speaking about the military process and how he was activated and will ultimately be deployed.  While Detective Salfas sees the importance of serving his country, he is having difficulty with leaving his wife and 5-month old son, saying, “I am proud to be sent as part of the U.S. presence in the Middle East, but leaving my family is the hardest thing I have ever had to do – my son will be walking by the time I return home and I will have missed that and many other “firsts” he will never have again.”

Salfas has been the State Police Detective at Christiana High School for two years and with the State Police for approximately 10 years.  His involvement in the school extends beyond his duties as a police officer to Assistant Basketball and Baseball Coach.  He has been activated with the military as of November 2009 as a member of Air National Guard.  He is a Sergeant within the Civil Engineering Squadron.  Detective Salfas and the students from Barbara Land’s AP History class will be featured in an upcoming article in the Wilmington News Journal.

 

 

 

 

November 2009