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Safety & Wellness

Our highly-trained safety and security staff monitor, protect and respond 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Our paramount duty is to create a safe learning environment where each child can thrive. 

Safety and security staff support and assist in the training of all district staff to be prepared to respond to natural- or human-caused emergencies. We work with communications and school staff to inform families about emergencies as soon as we can with as much information as possible.

We are committed to creating a safe environment in every school. Our safety and security staff are proactive and help keep our district’s promise that every student is empowered to learn in an inclusive setting and is prepared for the future of their choice.

Additionally, you can visit the state Department of Health's Safety Study Hall website, a place for schools, students, and families to learn about safety topics. 

How We Investigate Safety Concerns

Every report of a potential threat is investigated thoroughly and promptly in partnership with law enforcement and district safety personnel.

We are committed to demonstrating accountability through concrete actions and ongoing communication in several key areas:

  • Clear Protocols: Every safety incident will be evaluated through our established safety assessment procedures, which involve collaboration between school leaders, district safety officials, and law enforcement. This assessment generally follows these procedures:
    • Step 1: Receive the initial report and investigate the claim
    • Step 2: If there is imminent danger we initiate a lockdown/lockout and call 911
    • Step 3: If there is not an imminent danger but still a possible risk, we:
      • Contact law enforcement
      • Exclude/remove student(s) 
      • Continue to gather details and review information
      • Perform Level 1 (Salem-Kaiser) threat assessment
      • Make one of the following determinations:
        • Student(s) can return to instructional setting with a safety plan (may include bag searches, adult check in, and other safety steps depending on the situation)
        • A Level 2 Threat Assessment done in partnership with our local Educational Service District to determine if and how the student(s) will return to school
        • Student(s) will not return to school and alternative placement is determined to continue education
           
  • Transparency Within Legal Boundaries: While privacy laws limit our ability to disclose specific disciplinary actions taken against individual students, we will make every effort to communicate the steps we are taking to ensure the safety of all students and staff.
     
  • Re-evaluation of Current Practices: The district routinely conducts internal reviews of our current safety procedures and make adjustments where needed to ensure our response meets the community's expectations and adheres to state and federal laws.

Resources

How You Can Help

We urge families and students to continue practicing our “Report, Don’t Repost” guideline for handling potential threats. Sharing alleged threats, unconfirmed reports, or misinformation online can unintentionally spread fear and impede investigations. Please report concerns directly to school administrators or law enforcement.

We ask families to discuss the lessons regarding safety expectations with their students.

Safety & Wellness resources

Additional resources from our community partners, by subject: