Issaquah High School Safety Practices & ISD Safety Plans

These are some of the general safety practices at IHS:

SCHOOL OFFICERS There is a school safety officer on duty at the school, who is trained in the most up-to-date best practices including first aid, Safe Care, Narcan administration, Stop the Bleed training, CPR, AED, de-escalation techniques, and Crisis Intervention. Our security officers work with building administrative teams to ensure student and staff safety.

SECURITY AT THE DOOR To enter and leave the building, all visitors must ring the door. The school office personnel give the adults a name tag they must wear so everyone in the building can identify that they have already checked in.

SECURITY CAMERAS are located throughout the campus. During the day, security officers monitor the cameras. Their disclosure is not shared to ensure they are not disabled or intentionally avoided by someone wishing to avoid detection.

SUPERVISION IN THE CORRIDORS AND DINING ROOMS This year, they increased the number of staff supervising the halls and dining rooms.

REPORTS Students, staff, and parents can report information anonymously about any safety concerns. They can text 425-4285511, send an email to 2130@alert1.us or submit information on the form: https://www.isd411.org/safety-concern

Students have a QR code on their IDs that directly goes to the form. When you submit a tip, be sure to use our district’s identification code: 2130 in your communication. It is very important to try to include as many details as possible. And if you feel comfortable sharing your contact information, please do so, so the school administrators can contact you in case they have follow-up questions.

SECURITY SYSTEM GAGGLE All computers provided to students have Microsoft Office software and the Gaggle security system, which is an online filter. This system alerts school officers about possible incidents, suicide & self-harm, violence towards others, and drug and alcohol substance abuse.

SAFE BATHROOMS In the bathrooms, there are sensors installed that alert school officers within seconds if someone is vaping or of any loud noise.

SAFETY DRILLS By law, all our schools are required to conduct at least one drill a month and must practice three basic functional responses: shelter-in-place, lockdown, and evacuation. The district’s protocol for an active shooter scenario is called Run-Hide-Fight. Run-Hide-Fight is considered a best practice by local law enforcement, who worked with the Issaquah School District to bring this protocol to our schools. Schools also conduct at least one earthquake drill each year. Emergency Drills are also conducted on our school buses.

These are some of the classroom safety practices at IHS:

TELEPHONES AND EMERGENCY TELEPHONES Each room has a regular phone and an emergency phone that, when picked up, immediately activates an alarm that reaches school officials and notifies them exactly from which room the alarm is coming.

DE-ESCALATION TRAINING This was optional for all staff members, but many of the personnel took it at the beginning of the school year. They learned how to slow down, create space, and use communication techniques to defuse a potentially dangerous situation.

HALL PASSES All students who are in the hallways during class hours must have a pass that they can get from the school staff. These passes are to go to the bathroom or to go talk to a counselor, for example. Most of the fights that happen start in the classrooms, but these get more serious in the halls.

LOCKED CLASSROOM DOORS After several incidents in which students opened doors to play pranks, teachers were recommended to lock their doors. This practice helps with safety measures as well.

SAFETY PLANS In most cases, when a student is involved in an incident, a safety plan is put in place for themselves and those around them. These are always communicated to teachers.

What is a Safety Plan?

This is a document that enlists the measurements that are put in place to make sure a student is safe at school. It might involve a walking plan for the student to go from one class to the next, the use of certain bathrooms in the building, the use of safe spaces to release anxiety, a no-contact contract, etc.

A no-contact contract is a mutual agreement between two students who voluntarily affirm that they will not have direct contact with each other. The students sign the document that includes the consequences of breaking this agreement. It is important to understand that this plan is only valid at school, not outside the building.

Parents are encouraged to visit and bookmark the District’s Safety Web Page (https://www.isd411.org/about-us/safetyand-security) for more information.

Please note: It is important to know that if a student is being harassed and does not feel safe at school, he/ she or their parents can request to have a safety plan in place and to ask for the plan to be sent to them, to have it on writing. It is recommended to have a follow-up meeting to make sure the plan is working and to have the opportunity to ask to modify anything that is not working. The safety of all children is the number one priority for the Issaquah School District, and schools need the support and partnership of the parents.

To be consistent across the Issaquah School District, the District has developed the following list of terms to use in emergency situations. Please familiarize yourself with these terms:

o Lockdown: Occupants are kept in rooms or areas that are secured. No one is allowed to enter the building.

o Modified Lockdown: There is police activity or potential danger in the vicinity, such as a wild animal nearby. Instruction continues safely inside a secure building. Occupants remain in the classroom/building, and movement within the building is at the principal’s discretion. No one is allowed to enter the building.

o Reunification Site: Place where students are transported or assigned to meet due to unsafe conditions at the school site.

o Student Release Area: Location at the reunification site where parents may pick up students.

o Evacuation: All persons exit the building.

o Reverse Evacuation: Students return from outside to the safety of the school.

o Drill: The practice of a specific safety circumstance designed to prepare staff and students to act quickly and minimize questions and fears should an emergency take place.

o School Resource Officer (SRO): Uniformed police department officers assigned to schools to help build and maintain relationships between police, students, families, staff, and administrators.

o School Security Officers (SSO): Trained security personnel on duty at all high schools.

If a parent or student has any safety concerns at school, the best way to report them is to the principal. To learn more about Safety Concern tips or to submit a safety concern, please visit: https://www.isd411.org/safety-concern. 