Update for Families from Dr. Tess

September 26, 2022

Dear Winnetka Families,

On Saturday, you received a message from me informing you of an incident that took place in Winnetka at Dwyer Park in the early evening hours of Friday, September 23. As this matter is being handled by the police, I am limited in what I am able to share with you regarding the details of that incident; however, I want to make sure that you have a clear understanding of how our staff will be equipped to be responsive to students when they return to their classrooms on Tuesday. All five schools will be starting the day with an all-school assembly at which a consistent presentation will be given that emphasizes the importance of seeing something then saying something and being an up-stander in our community. At the middle schools, this presentation will include a section about the importance for students to do their part not to normalize bullying behavior, particularly on social media.

The following key points will be shared in this presentation with students:

We all share a responsibility to do our part to make our community a safe one.
Part of keeping each other safe means doing the following:

If you see something that may put yourself or others in a harmful situation, say something to a trusted adult RIGHT AWAY.
Be an up-stander: the kind of person who recognizes when something is wrong and does something to make it right. If an upstander sees or hears about bullying or unsafe behavior, they will do something. This could mean stopping the bully, reporting the event, or helping the victim even after the fact. Sometimes being an up-stander means getting an adult to do something if you don’t feel safe enough to do it yourself.
Do not ignore or normalize bullying. Bullying is never funny and never ok.

All of our schools have the support of social workers who are prepared to support you confidentially if you want to talk any time about anything.

You should know that the following will be in place and enforced by our administrative team on Tuesday morning:

A safety plan for the students who instigated Friday’s incident

This is for the benefit of the safety of all students and staff in attendance on our campuses.
We will benefit from the support of our building’s crisis teams (social work, psychologists, school nurse, administration) to support this safety plan.
We will benefit from a police presence on our campuses throughout next week

A safety plan for the students who were impacted by Friday's incident
A safety plan for all five school buildings

This includes the all-school presentation at the start of the school day on Tuesday, increased availability amongst social workers to support students & staff, and an increased police presence

While we are able to put safety plans in place, we are legally unable to take disciplinary action based on this incident at this time. This incident took place off campus, outside of school hours and is being handled as a police matter. We currently have no knowledge of there being any connection between this incident and our schools, other than the fact that the students attend our schools. This may seem like enough reason to take disciplinary action, but legally it is not. We will continue to follow our discipline policy (Policies 7:180; 7:190; and 7:20), and be prepared to respond immediately should this present a challenge in our schools.

In the meantime, here are a few resources that may be helpful to you as a parent:

This slide deck from a CASEL webinar that focused on how the pandemic exacerbated bullying/cyberbullying and what can be done about it. Please note that the normalization of bullying is prevalent on social media outlets like TikTok and Instagram. Emphasize the message that there is nothing funny about bullying and that it is never acceptable.
This interview with Dr. Marc Brackett, creator of the RULER approach to social-emotional learning, addresses how RULER can help educators and parents to address bullying.
This article features Dr. Marc Brackett, creator of the RULER approach to social emotional learning, addresses the role of emotions in the learning process.
Haven Youth & Family Services is a local organization available to anyone in our community seeking support for mental health needs.

To be clear, I am horrified about what happened on Friday evening. The safety of our students and staff remains my highest priority. But I cannot do it alone. I ask for your partnership, vigilance and support. As I mentioned in my message on Saturday, we can do better as a community. I am confident that when we work together, we can ensure that our schools are safer places to learn and work for all.

Most Sincerely,

Dr. Kelly Tess

Superintendent