Woodland D50 Safety

This week Woodland is celebrating America’s Safe Schools Week! The safety of our staff and students is our top priority, and safety is something we think about everyday throughout the year. In this newsletter, we will share a few important updates about Safety at Woodland, but you are always welcome to visit the Safety Portal on our district website to learn more.

Every year in the fall, the District holds an Annual Safety Meeting with our trusted community partners to review the Woodland D50 Crisis Response Plan, and report out about new safety initiatives recently completed or underway. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss any necessary updates as a result of emerging safety concerns, best practices, or new initiatives at the local, state, and national level. Woodland gathers feedback from local service providers, law enforcement representatives, and other emergency responders to help evaluate the plan from each specific lens. Our partners also provide updates regarding changes to their procedures that may have an impact on Woodland, and we use the time to better understand each others roles and responsibilities during an emergency. As a group, we also discuss possible roadblocks or other obstacles we may need to problem-solve before an emergency arises, and identify opportunities to work together. We truly appreciate these partnerships and know that we are stronger when we work together on behalf of the Woodland learning community.

School Resource Officer (SRO) Kelly Hansen recently shared resources about the risks of Vaping. SRO Hansen is an important part of the Woodland Safety Team, and a big part of what she does in our district is help with crime prevention, safety education, and community support and resources.

According to the National Youth Tobacco Survey, vaping has become a pervasive problem with over 2.5 million youths admitting to using e-cigarettes/vapes in 2022. Vaping is harmful, yet millions of people use them regularly. It is important for us as a community to help youth understand the risks associated with it and why/how to avoid vaping. English / Spanish

Woodland students across the district will be celebrating safe & healthy choices all next week during Red Ribbon Week! Each school has outlined a few ways they will recognize Red Ribbon Week from spirit days to assemblies to collecting food for the Annual Holiday Food Drive. Look for additional details in the Principal Newsletters!

Safety on the school bus starts with our Woodland drivers!

Woodland bus drivers are employees of the district, and they are responsible for transporting our students to and from school safely. This is a job they take seriously and we appreciate these dedicated employees for their commitment to our students. School bus drivers in Illinois must go through a rigorous training and licensing process, as well as background checks and other safeguards, to ensure they are qualified to perform this important role in the district.

Every day, Woodland bus drivers conduct a full safety inspection of their bus before picking up students. Drivers are also provided professional development and go through safety evaluations to make sure that our students are in good hands.

Schools across the nation continue to face bus driver shortages. If you are interested in joining the #LifeintheW team, please consider submitting an application. This can be a great fit for a parent/guardian in the district so that you can have the same hours and days off as your child(ren), and you can even bring younger siblings on the bus during your route.

Apply Today!

Did You Know? Every year, bus drivers and students practice bus evacuation drills. The driver and passengers on a bus must know how to exit the bus safely in the event of an emergency. According to 105 ILCS 128 Section 20, schools must conduct a minimum of one bus evacuation drill during each academic year.

School buses are one of the safest vehicles on the road due to their size and visibility, and the many rules and regulations that bus drivers and school children must follow. However, many of these safeguards depend on others sharing the road with school buses. Review the resources below for tips and reminders about how you and your child can contribute to a safe environment on the school bus.

Report a Concern is an online communication system that encourages students, parents, and community members to “speak up” using online messaging to report threats or problems suspected or observed in or near District 50. In the event of an emergency, please call 911 or encourage your student to speak directly to a trusted adult.

Please Note: Report A Concern is completely anonymous. If you wish to have someone follow-up with you regarding your concern, you must leave contact information. This box is optional if you intend to remain anonymous.

The ability to report something anonymously can lead to misuse of this important safety feature. As a reminder, using Report A Concern to intentionally disrupt the school day, or to get other students in trouble, are very serious offenses and will not be tolerated. In addition to this utilizing a tremendous amount of school and community resources to investigate and conduct a formal threat assessment, a false report causes anxiety, stress, fear and uncertainty for our students, staff, and families.

The image below shows you what the Report A Concern feature looks like:

Thank you for your attention to these important safety topics in honor of America's Safe Schools Week. If there are other safety topics that you are interested in learning more about, please send an email to Dr. Lanée Walls, Associate Superintendent of Educational Services at LWalls@dist50.net. We will use your feedback to develop future information campaigns to help raise awareness of Woodland D50 safety procedures. We appreciate your partnership in keeping our learning community safe.