Safety & Security News
From the Superintendent, Winnetka Police Chief & Fire Chief
September 1, 2023
Dear Parents, Staff and Community Members,
We are reaching out at the beginning of our school year to assure you of our collaborative, dedicated partnership to foster a safe and healthy environment for our students, staff, and community. If you have not already had a chance to review the Fall Edition of the District’s Safety Bulletin shared on August 31, please do so. We value your efforts to join us in supporting a safe community for all. As such, we wanted to make you aware of a concerning national trend which we are closely monitoring in order to plan for and adapt our safety and security protocols.
As the 2023/2024 school year began, many schools across the country have reported experiencing “swatting” incidents, in which phony threats are called into school campuses and police departments. This was the experience of two schools in our area late last school year, and the impetus for our focus on preparing for and responding to possible threats made to our schools. District leadership and our first responders have jointly attended training this summer to inform our protocols, further supporting existing steps we have in place. Any threat received by one of our schools will involve an immediate response from our police and fire departments, including school responses that may involve activating internal protocol like “stay in place” or an evacuation response to one of our identified relocation points in the Village. This will be dependent on the information we have available to us, and our priority will always be keeping our students and staff as safe as possible.
“Swatting” is considered a felony offense. While we have no reason to believe that The Winnetka Public Schools are a particular target for such a threat, we feel it is important to keep our community informed and aware. As always, students, staff and community members are encouraged to report concerning behavior to the schools and/or the police department. You may notice an increased police presence throughout the community and surrounding our schools this week as students return to campus. This is part of an effort to emphasize our partnership in the community, and to familiarize our students, staff and families with the officers that work to keep our community a safe and healthy place to live.
We look forward to welcoming students back to campus next week, and appreciate your support.
Most Sincerely,
Dr. Kelly Tess, Superintendent of Schools
Brian O’Connell, Chief of Police
John Ripka, Chief of the Fire Department