Safety in Our Schools
School safety is a shared responsibility that involves all of us—students, families, staff and our communities. Together, we play an important role in creating a safe and secure environment where every student can thrive.
We ask that you please review the safety information below and have a conversation with your child(ren) about it.
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Be mindful with your words - Sharing, reposting or creating threatening messages in person or online, is not acceptable. Students who make threats, even as a joke, can be subject to both school disciplinary action and legal consequences. It's important to understand that any conversation, whether intended as a joke or not, can be overheard or shared, and we take all mentions of threats very seriously.
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If you see/hear something, say something - Students are often aware of situations before adults, so please remind your child that it is important for them to immediately report concerns to the school office or a trusted adult in school. Concerns may also be submitted on the TIP Portal.
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Be responsible online - If you see a social media threat, don’t forward or repost it. Instead, take a screenshot and share it with our school administrators and police. Sharing the post online only helps perpetuate the rumor, making it harder to trace its origin and slows down an investigation.
We want to be clear that SoWashCo Schools will not tolerate any threat of violence—whether made in person, on social media or otherwise. Your support and involvement are crucial in maintaining the well-being of our school community.
Please help us emphasize to all students that making a threat in any other format can have serious legal and disciplinary consequences.
Thank you for helping us maintain a safe and supportive environment for everyone.
UNDERSTANDING THE LANGUAGE WE USE
SoWashCo Schools uses the Standard Safety Response Protocol which is based on five actions for safety. Students and staff are trained on these procedures and practice drills throughout the school year. The language we use matters and has meaning. Please review the language below, so you are familiar with the actions associated with the words.
Hold
When we use it: If there is a situation where it is helpful to have people out of the hallways. This could be for a fight, a dysregulated student, a medical emergency or during an investigation.
Action: Students and staff return to their classrooms, shut and lock the door, take attendance, and continue business as usual within the classroom. Even if passing time occurs, there is no movement until the Hold is cleared.
Secure
When we use it: If there is something happening outside the school that we don’t want to come inside. This could be criminal or police activity or a wild animal.
Action: Bring everyone indoors, lock outside doors, increase situational awareness and take attendance. Once those are complete, the school day continues as usual.
Lockdown
When we use it: If there is something inside the school where we need to protect people. This could be a trespasser, a parent custody dispute, or a violent person.
Action: Lock and close the classroom door, turn off the lights, move away from sight, maintain silence, and take attendance if appropriate and safe. Do not open the door unless an “all clear” is given.
Evacuate
When we use it: If people need to move from one place to another, either inside or outside the school. This could be for a gas leak, a chemical spill, or a fire.
Action: Leave items behind and evacuate to a designated secure location and take class attendance.
Shelter
When we use it: If there is a need for protection from a hazard while staying inside the school. This could be a tornado or severe weather.
Action: Leave items behind, follow the safety strategy (for example, go to shelter areas and sit quietly) and take attendance.
Communicating in an Emergency
Our commitment to you is to communicate with you consistently if an emergency occurs, but please know that our first priority is ensuring our students and staff are safe. We will then investigate the matter to ensure any information we provide to our staff, students, families and community is accurate. Once these steps have taken place, we will communicate with you directly using email, phone or text. The emergency level and time of day will determine how we send messages.
Low Impact: The situation has little to no disruption to school or classroom activities. The situation is isolated or poses no credible threat to the school as a whole. Email, text or robo-call to the families in the classroom or bus involved. Not all low impact situations will result in communications.
Examples may include:
- Non-credible social media threat
- A school bus involved in a fender-bender
- A person in the school experiences a medical issue
Moderate Impact: The situation has limited disruptions to school or classroom activities. The situation may affect a single classroom or whole school. Email, text or robo-call to a classroom, entire school, or in some cases, the entire school district.
Examples may include:
- A technology outage
- A plumbing issue
- The building is placed in a hold or secure for emergency personnel on-site.
High Impact: The situation poses a significant disruption to the school day. The incident impacts the entire school or school district. Information shared widely on all platforms. Email, text and robocall to an entire school, or in some cases the entire school district. Information will be shared widely on all platforms.
Examples may include:
- A lockdown at a school
- Extreme weather
- A credible or substantiated threat is made against a school or classroom.
Types of communication: Email, phone message (robo-call), text message and websites. SoWashCo Schools rarely uses social media channels to communicate in an emergency situation.
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Different communication methods present a different sense of urgency. |
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Phone |
Active and ongoing situations, or situations that would benefit from a phone call |
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Text |
Active and ongoing situations |
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Website |
Active and ongoing situations |
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Serious or minor situations that were resolved |
Many factors go into a decision about if, when and how SoWashCo Schools communicates about a situation. Communication is determined by the scope of a situation and/or if there was a disruption to the school day.
It is impossible to plan for every scenario, but we hope families, staff and the community understand the general guidelines that are used to determine if messaging is needed, and how it will be delivered. Each circumstance is unique, and the method of communication is decided on a case-by-case basis.
To ensure you receive any essential communications please make sure your contact information is up to date within Campus Parent Portal.
Safety Tips in an Emergency
Stay Calm and Stay Alert: In the event of a school emergency, please remain calm and know that school staff, district personnel and local law enforcement are working together to keep your child safe.
Staff training for emergency situations and drills are conducted on a regular basis to ensure everyone is aware of the safety protocols and guidelines. SoWashCo Schools understand the importance of communication with families during an emergency and are committed to provide ongoing updates throughout the situation.
Please rely on information directly from SoWashCo Schools rather than other sources that may contain misinformation and rumor.
Stay Away from the School: We understand a parent or guardian’s desire to go to the school and the need to see your child during an emergency situation. However, arriving at the scene before it is secure can interfere with the work of first responders and school staff.
One of the greatest challenges during an emergency is managing the number of parents and concerned citizens rushing to the scene. By rushing to the school, families can unintentionally create traffic jams that may block first responders from assisting those in need.
Families should not come to pick up their child unless given the direction to do so from SoWashCo Schools.
Keep Phone Lines Open: We ask that families do not call the school during an emergency. When parents or guardians call, that ties up phone lines that need to stay open for communication with first responders and school officials. It also helps school staff to remain focused on the safety of students and staff.
SoWashCo Schools will communicate any information with you as soon as possible via emails, phone calls and text messages.
T.I.P. Portal
Students are often aware of situations before adults and they can make positive impacts in our school community.
We ask our students to immediately report concerns to a trusted adult at school. Secondary students (grades 6-12+) have the option to anonymously report issues through the SoWashCo Schools' Tip and Information Portal (T.I.P.) if they are struggling with the fear of embarrassment or peer retaliation.
Submitted tips can include topics such as academic concerns, alcohol or drug use, bullying, discrimination, mental health concerns, parking issues, potential violence and more.
All tips are taken seriously and will be reviewed throughout the school week. It is important to know that T.I.P. is not a replacement for emergency services. If there is immediate danger, please call 911.
Safety Drills
Throughout the school year, SoWashCo Schools completes several safety drills at all of our schools and sites. The goal of a safety drill is to show students and staff what needs to be done in an emergency.
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Five evacuation drills
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The first evacuation drill takes place within 10 days of the start of school
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Five safety drills (lockdown or secure)
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One shelter drill
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Bus riders also hold one bus evacuation drill