School Safety
School Safety
School safety is arguably one of the most important issues facing school districts today. The Superior School District has developed numerous practices, procedures, and protocols that are in place each day to ensure a safe learning environment. We want you to be informed of what we are doing as part of our commitment to staff and student safety.
There are three components to school safety:
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Effective planning and coordination for potential emergency situations,
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Thorough training and regular drilling for staff and students in emergency procedures, and
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Secure school buildings protected and monitored by current technology and best practices in design and infrastructure.
Every year, our school district spends a considerable time and effort planning and practicing safety and security measures appropriate for dealing with major critical incidents. We continue to have a very close relationship and strong lines of communication with our local law enforcement agencies. We frequently review our current systems and collaborate with outside agencies such as the Wisconsin School Safety Coordinators Association, the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Office of School Safety, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and other educational leadership and governmental agencies to ensure we are best prepared for any emergency we may face.
Some of the steps taken in recent years to ensure staff and student safety include:
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Emergency Response Plans: Every school has a crisis response plan and all school personnel have participated in crisis response training. These plans are reviewed and approved annually.
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School Entrances: All school entrances are locked and monitored by video cameras. Staff members wear photo identification badges. Parents and others coming into schools must check in at the main office and receive temporary identification badges before proceeding. Our dual-entry system prevents visitors from gaining access to the building without being visually screened, in person, by a District staff member.
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School Safety Grants: The Superior School District was awarded a total of $421,287 in School Safety Grants from the WI Department of Justice, Office of School Safety in 2018. This grant has helped to improve front office security (i.e. install safety window film and monitors for cameras), improve radio communication with emergency services (police, fire, EMT) and install “panic” buttons for quick lockdown.
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Enhanced Lockdown Training: The district has adopted the safety protocol called ALICE. ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate) is a protocol which enhances our previous lockdown procedures. ALICE empowers staff to exercise options in the event of such an incident based on real-time information gathered during the incident. This enhanced protocol does not dictate to staff or students how they should react but instead provides options for action in addition to the traditional lockdown. Students learn about ALICE from teachers using developmentally appropriate lessons. It is important that students are prepared in an emergency without being fearful. Please see resources for more information about how to talk to your students about school safety.
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School Climate: In an effort to ensure a positive school climate, we have implemented the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program in all of our schools which teaches and promotes positive behavior schoolwide. Additionally, there are staff trained in adolescent mental health, threat assessment, and adverse childhood experiences. With federal ESSER funds we have been able to add additional positions to schools that include more assistant principals, deans, counselors, and school social workers.
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Threat Assessment Training: There are staff in every school trained in Wisconsin School Threat Assessment Protocol created by the Wisconsin Department of Justice. The School Threat Assessment Protocol is to be applied as an early intervention tool to assist students exhibiting concerning behaviors.
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See Something, Say Something campaign: Brightly colored posters in our buildings encourage students and staff to be alert and come forward with any information. This is a continual reminder of the need to speak up if you hear or see something of concern.
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Speak Up Speak Out: During the 2021-22 school year, staff and students received training regarding the Speak Up, Speak Out tip line. Parents also received information from their school principals. Students, parents, school staff and community members can submit a school safety concern by downloading the SUSO app (Android and iOS), visiting speakup.widoj.gov or by calling 1-800-MY-SUSO-1. Resource Center staff work around-the-clock to respond to reports and to deploy a response locally by communicating directly with school administrators, law enforcement and counselors. This tip line is used to identify threats to schools, and other daily safety concerns students encounter, such as bullying, drug use, suicidal thoughts and more.
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School Visitor: Entrance to all schools is limited. Families will be asked to remain outside the school when dropping off and picking up their child from school. We want to continue to create a welcoming school environment; however, school safety is our top priority. We ask that if you need to meet with school personnel you contact the school office to schedule an appointment prior to coming to the school. Also, parent engagement is an important aspect to our school environment. As before, please make sure to set up any volunteering in advance with the teacher or school. This procedure helps to reduce traffic in our school and for our front office staff to more closely monitor who is entering the school throughout the day. All school visitors must sign in and out of the office and will need to show ID.