The Appleton Area School District's number one priority is the safety and security of our students and staff. Secure schools, highly trained School Resource Officers, and the I Luv U Guys Foundation’s Standard Response Protocol (SRP) help maintain high levels of safety and preparedness across the district.
In the last several years we have closely reviewed and updated our safety programs, empowered our teachers and staff, and created a District Safety Workgroup and site-based safety teams at each school to ensure that we are doing everything that we can to keep our learners safe every day.
Our ongoing goal is to find a proper balance between creating schools that are safe and secure while also maintaining an open and caring environment where students, staff, parents and community members feel welcome at our schools.
Proactive Steps
The AASD has taken proactive steps in increasing the safety of our schools. We will continue to make progress through constant monitoring and feedback.
District Level Steps
- School-community partnerships to enhance safety measures for students beyond school property
- Crisis plans and preparedness training (site-level teams; simulation drills; training teachers and other staff in how to respond to students’ questions, crisis awareness)
- Threat assessment procedures with help from the Appleton Police Department
School Level Steps
- Controlling access to school buildings (designated locked entrances)
- Monitoring of school guests (report to the main office, sign in, wear badges, report unfamiliar people to school office)
- Monitoring of school parking lots and video monitoring
- Monitoring and supervision of student common areas such as hallways, cafeterias, and playgrounds
- Providing the presence of school resource officers (SRO’s)
- Creating a safe, supportive school climate through Positive Behavior Initiatives and Support (PBIS) that provides school-wide behavioral expectations, caring school climate programs, positive interventions and supports, psychological and counseling services, and violence prevention programs (bully-proofing, social skill development, conflict mediation)
- Encouraging students to take responsibility for their part in maintaining safe school environments, including student participation in safety planning. They, better than adults, know the hidden or less trafficked areas of the school that are more likely to be dangerous
- Promoting compliance with school rules, reporting potential problems to school officials, and resisting peer pressure to act irresponsibly
- Providing anonymous reporting systems (student tip lines, bully reporting)
- Providing school preparedness drills (intruder alerts, weather, and fire)
- Ensuring that schools undergo a school safety audit on a yearly basis to reassess safety needs that encompass all drills, building safety and playground equipment
Contact
Have questions about School Safety?
Mark Hansel
Chairperson of the District Safety Workgroup
(920) 852-5326
email