With many Everett residents having children in Mukilteo Schools MyEverettNews.com was asked to pass along the following letter this afternoon from Dr. Marci Larsen, Superintendent at the Mukilteo School District…
Parents, staff members, students, and the community,
During the past few weeks, all of us in the Mukilteo School District have been rocked by the news of another school shooting event in Florida and also by the news that one of our own students was planning a shooting at one of our schools. Fortunately, in the latter case, word of the plot was reported to police and that student is now in custody and charged with the crime of attempted first-degree murder.
This is an issue that brings to mind the question about what the Mukilteo School District is doing to help assure that our schools are safe and secure. As you’ve heard us say many times, the safety of our students and staff is our highest priority. We take very seriously the fact that we are entrusted with the care of our students and staff members and we are always working to find ways to improve what we do.
The list of programs and activities that are taking place to make our schools safer and more secure is quite lengthy. It ranges from the hiring of a full-time safety manager who focuses on this issue every day, to the availability of School Resource Officers who are assigned to schools from each of the three police jurisdictions that serve our schools. Voters approved a ballot measure in 2014 that provided $2 million for safety initiatives, we have more than 500 security cameras installed at our schools, consultants evaluate our buildings and grounds for improved security, and we have programs in place to help students with their emotional and mental health needs. We are working with experts to adopt a new protocol to provide a better response to active shooter events and the schools have adopted a program recommended by most police agencies to assess what can be done at each school to maximize safety.
We all have a role in making our schools safer. The incident that happened right here at home is a perfect example of the most important thing that can prevent school tragedies like the one that happened in Florida. If you see or hear something, say something. Call the police or your school administrator if you are aware of any threat to schools or if you see anything that seems suspicious. What’s more, we have a system in place called the SafeSchools Alert Hotline, which provides a way for people to report safety issues. To access it, go to our website at www.mukilteo.wednet.edu.
To provide more details, we will be posting to our website the answers to many questions that staff members, parents, and people in the community might have about our safety and security efforts.
All of us—parents, staff members, students, and community members—are after the same goal: schools and a community that are a safe and secure place to live and work. Thank you for being a partner in those efforts and for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Dr. Marci Larsen, Superintendent
Mukilteo School District
February 28, 2018
Everett Schools