Internal Threats

Our students’ safety is our top concern, as is the safety of our faculty, staff and visitors. For this reason, Anglophone West School District has implemented Violence Risk Threat Assessment (VRTA) procedures for staff to use in cases where students make significant threats to harm themselves or others.

The “Fair Notice” letter below outlines how our district responds to threats made by students. If there is a need, a school may do either of the following:

• Hold and Secure: Allows those who are in the building to continue with their normal routines, with increased monitoring of entrances and no one entering or leaving the building.
• Lockdown: Requires all who are within the building to immediately stop what they are doing and assume a quiet, hiding position within their current space. Staff and students practice a lockdown drill each year.

In either case, please know that parents/guardians will not be able to retrieve their child(ren) until the “all clear” is given. The school and district will do its best to provide communication throughout the situation, although the priority will always be to ensure the safety of individuals first.

To help keep our school communities safe, there is an expectation that parents, students, and community members who have knowledge of a threat or high-risk behaviour will report this information to the principal. It would be helpful if you would discuss this protocol with your child(ren). Our goal is to respond to all threats in a professional manner that provides for a safe, healthy and caring learning environment. We appreciate your support in helping ensure our schools are safe environments for all students, faculty, staff, and visitors.