Whitewater High School is committed to providing a safe environment for students, staff and visitors in our building. This reminder is to communicate with you some of the measures we will be continuing for 2nd semester.
Emergency Drills: Throughout the year, we will conduct fire, tornado, and WAVE drills. The WAVE System is a wireless instant notification system that sounds a detailed alarm message throughout the building and sends an alert directly to law enforcement and first responders in the event of a critical incident. Some of the emergency drills will be “cognitive” drills in which the staff verbally talks with students about what to do and where to go in the event of an actual emergency. Other drills will be more realistic and require the building to go into a lockdown simulation. Families will be notified prior to an official lockdown WAVE drill.
Established procedures are in place in the event of an actual emergency. If a critical incident were to occur forcing a lockdown, no persons will be allowed in or out of our buildings until law enforcement has deemed it to be safe for all involved. In the event of an emergency requiring students to be picked up, the school will communicate with you the proper procedures to follow in order to safely retrieve your student.
Searches: WHS recognizes that a safe, drug-free environment for students and staff provides the best learning environment. Whenever school authorities suspect a person may be in possession of something that may be a danger to themselves or others, a search of the person or the person’s property will be conducted. This includes lockers and vehicles on school property. Searches under this policy may include the use of handheld metal detecting devices commonly known as “wands.” We will also conduct searches by law enforcement dogs trained to detect the presence of illegal substances. These searches may occur at any time and without prior notice during 2nd semester.
Raptor Visitor Management System: If you will be entering the building beyond the main office during the school day, you will be asked to present an ID such as a State Issued Driver's License, Military Issued ID, or Passport ID card, which can either be scanned or manually entered into the system. Please understand this is being done to keep our children safe.
WHS administration appreciates your partnership in your child’s education and safety. We encourage students, staff and parents to be vigilant and report information of any suspicious activity to school administration or law enforcement. Open lines of communication are the best approach to maintain a safe and positive learning environment for all.
