• School Safety

    Ashland Public Schools is committed to the safety of its students, faculty and staff as well as visitors in each of our buildings. We rely on a strong partnership with the Ashland Police Department and support from our entire district community to ensure our safety protocols are reviewed frequently, practiced and updated as needed.

     

    See Something, Say Something

    If you see something, say something. Don't spread it. Report it!

    This is the best deterrent to potentially harmful situations. We want everyone in our school community — students, staff, parents, caregivers and visitors — to be empowered to report any unusual or suspicious activity to a building administrator, employee or public safety official.

     

    Visitor Management

    Part of keeping students and faculty safe is knowing who is in our buildings at all times and our visitor management measures allow us to do that.

    Beginning October 2024, the district will implement Raptor Technologies to screen all visitors. First-time visitors will be asked to provide an ID. All visitors must be buzzed in by our front office staff to enter our school buildings. Upon entering a school office, all visitors will be issued a badge that identifies the visitor. A visitor’s badge will not be necessary for those who visit our schools simply to drop off an item in the office or pick up paperwork.

    Additionally, students should not be in the building after the school day ends without a specific purpose (extra help, athletics, club meetings, etc.). If students do not have a purpose in the building, they should head home.

     

    Emergency Preparedness

    Ashland Public Schools has an emergency operation plan responsive to many different emergency scenarios, including natural or human emergencies such as fires, earthquakes, intruders and more. The specifics of district and building plans cannot be publicized for security reasons, only some general characteristics can be shared.

    The district plan, developed by the Ashland Public Schools Safety Committee in collaboration with the Ashland Police Department, outlines various categories of response, including threat assessments, trauma responses and incident response.

     

    Limits to Communications

    During crises and emergencies, we may be limited as to how much information we can share to safeguard the privacy and safety of our staff and students. Below are examples of when we might communicate limited information or share information with a limited audience:

    • Student information: Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Ashland Public Schools is legally bound to protect student privacy and will not share information that may identify an individual student.

    • Information that might hinder any active law enforcement investigations will not be shared.

    • Information might not be shared with all families if a situation is not a safety threat beyond a specific building, group, classroom or bus. Only the affected families might be notified. 

    • When there is no safety threat or disruption to normal school operations. For example, if there is a medical issue on campus that does not result in holding bells or an altercation that only affects the people involved, information will only be provided to the families of the individuals involved.