While horrific acts of violence have caused heightened public scrutiny of school security in these past weeks, the Issaquah School District focuses on school safety every day. We continually work to prevent and prepare for emergencies. Our safety measures include:

 

·        Every visitor is required to sign in at the front office of any District building and obtain a name badge.

·        The District Safety Committee, with one representative from each school building, meets regularly to review and discuss safety and emergency procedures.

·        Each school practices emergency drills—including lockdown, earthquake, and fire drills— throughout the year.

·        From schoolwide walkie-talkies to Districtwide e-mail listservs and auto-dialers, communication systems are in place to connect people inside and outside of buildings.

·        Through a grant from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, a professional company has “mapped” each high school so that emergency personnel can instantly see the building’s layout and plan accordingly.

·        Administrators work closely with local emergency agencies to form partnerships. A “resource officer”—a special-assignment police officer who works fulltime in schools—serves each of our high schools and their feeder schools. Police also use our school buildings to stage mock emergency drills during summers.

·        The District works with the company Incident Tactics to allow staff to react to web-based simulations of real emergencies, such as an armed intruder or a dangerous chemical spill. Results are evaluated for safety and efficiency.

·        In partnership with the Issaquah Schools Foundation, the Greater Issaquah Youth and Family Network, and other community agencies, the District has created middle- and high-school programs that focus on identifying and treating student depression and stress. Staff and students are trained to be aware of warning signs and symptoms.

·        The District and every school have zero-tolerance policies for harassment and bullying.

 

Parents, please share this information in a way that you feel is appropriate with children who might be feeling anxious. While media accounts of violence have grabbed our attention recently, national statistics show that schools are safe places and they are getting safer (violent crimes on school campuses decreased by 42 percent from 1992 to 2003, according to the National Center for Education Statistics). Children can promote a safe school environment by following emergency procedures, staying alert, and reporting any suspicious activities or rumors to an adult.

 

Schools need to be community places where students feel comfortable learning and playing, but they must also be safe and secure. Our schools will continue to concentrate on this balance every day.

 

Please call Communications Director Sara Niegowski, 425-837-7004, or Executive Director of Operations Craig Christensen, 425-837-7010, for more information.

 

 

Reminders:

·        All community members are invited to give input on the qualities they would like to see in the District’s new superintendent at 7 p.m. tonight, Oct. 10, at the administration building 565 N.W. Holly St. This input is critical because it will be used to create a profile to recruit candidates and make a hiring decision.

·        The Issaquah Schools Foundation/Communities in School of Issaquah’s ninth annual luncheon is next Thursday, Oct. 19, at the Issaquah Community Center, 301 Rainier Blvd. S. Every dollar raised will benefit Issaquah students. The silent auction begins at 11 a.m. and the luncheon runs from noon to 1:30 p.m. The Keynote speaker is Michael Schutzler, senior vice president of Worldwide Games & Advertising Operations for RealNetworks, and the master of ceremonies is Pat Cashman. Call 425-416-2045 or e-mail info@issaquahschoolsfoundation.org for more information.

·        You can listen to entire School Board meetings—including the most recent, in which the Board interviewed and selected a new member to fill a vacant Board seat—online.