Student & school safety

Board Policy 1500: Visits to and Conduct on School Property

Our schools welcome family and community involvement, but to ensure a safe and respectful environment for all students, staff, and visitors, certain expectations must be followed when visiting school property or attending school events.

All visitors are required to check in at the school’s main office, present valid identification, sign in, and wear a visitor badge while on campus. Visitors should also sign out and return their badge when leaving. For larger events—such as school assemblies, concerts, or public meetings—sign-in may not be required, but visitors must still follow all school rules and staff directions.

Any staff member may request identification from any person on school grounds or in any school building: refusal to provide such information is a criminal act. The Building Principal or designee shall seek the immediate removal of any person who refuses to provide requested identification.

Secure entrances

All exterior doors are always locked. Most of our schools also have a secured vestibule preventing visitors from entering the school once through the main entrance door unless granted access.

Security cameras

All of our elementary schools have a security camera at the entrance to the building. Jefferson Junior High has 36 security cameras installed throughout the building. Security cameras are not actively monitored, but can be viewed live when necessary. The Woodridge Police Department can access the video feeds at any time.

Classroom door locks

All classroom doors in all of our schools remain locked at all times.

Weapons talk

Each year the school principal meets with students in every grade level to review Woodridge School District 68’s weapons policy, discussing what constitutes a weapon, prohibition of weapons on school property, and consequences for violating these policies.

Lockdown drills

Lockdown drills are one of several safety drills students and staff participate in each year. Current research suggests the run-hide-fight approach to an active shooter in the school.

Table top scenarios

Staff participate in additional emergency training where different emergency scenarios are presented and then the best practice response is shared and discussed.

Active shooter drills

The Woodridge Police Department conducts active shooter drills inside our schools to prepare and train in case of such an emergency. This is done when no students or staff are present to avoid any unnecessary trauma.

Emergency Action Guide

Developed after research and discussion at the annual school safety meeting (see below), a copy of the single page Emergency Action Guide is posted next to every classroom door.

Annual school safety meeting

A crisis committee made up of district and school administrators and representatives from the Woodridge Police Department, Lisle-Woodridge Fire Protection District, Woodridge Park District, and others meet every year to discuss the latest research and review plans and procedures to ensure best practices and coordination in the event of an emergency.

Social workers/psychologists

Each elementary school has a full-time social worker. Jefferson Junior High has two social workers and a school counselor. Woodridge 68 has 5 psychologists: one at Jefferson, one for early childhood, and the other three each split their time between two elementary schools. Information about the role social workers, counselors, and psychologists play in the school can be found on the district and school websites.

SEL curriculum

Recent studies by organizations such as the National Institute of Mental Health and the American Academy of Pediatrics show a significant increase in adolescent anxiety, depression, and suicide attempts. An effective social emotional (SEL) curriculum combats these alarming statistics. According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), SEL is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. SEL is not a single program or teaching method. It involves coordinated strategies across classrooms, schools, homes and communities, and districts.

Significant 72

To catalyze building strong relationships between teachers and students, we spend the first three days of the school year focusing solely on building relationships. Teachers get to know kids, kids get to know each other, and students do activities that better help them understand themselves. Significant 72 doesn’t end after those first three days. In addition to ongoing reinforcement, we set aside time for relationship-building after three-day weekends, Thanksgiving break, winter break, and spring break.

Bloomsights

Bloomsights is a comprehensive student well-being platform that helps educators build stronger connections, celebrate strengths, and uncover student needs.

Bullying prevention & awareness

Bullying, intimidation, and harassment diminish a student’s ability to learn and a school’s ability to educate. Preventing students from engaging in these disruptive behaviors and providing all students equal access to a safe, non-hostile learning environment are important goals in Woodridge School District 68. Read more about proactive measures to prevent bullying, intimidation, and harassment.

GRIT program

GRIT is a school educational program offered in partnership with the Woodridge Police Department. Those who have GRIT possess a special combination of passion and persistence to overcome challenges and succeed. The program combines many elements of the D.A.R.E. program with current issues facing our youth such as social media, peer pressure and bullying. GRIT also focuses on educating parents regarding the current issues facing our youth.

Constant communication with police

Woodridge 68 works closely with the police department to prepare for and respond to any level of security threat.

Annual school safety meeting

[see Emergency Preparedness section]

KEEP OUR COMMUNITY SAFE
Securely Storing Firearms Helps Prevent Tragedy

DuPage County Schools, in conjunction with our School Safety Network and community partners, are requesting your help with an important safety issue. We are committed to providing a safe educational environment for our students, staff, and community, and statistics show that the safe storage of guns can prevent tragedies both at home and at school. Safety is a collective commitment, and owning a firearm comes with important responsibilities.

How can securely storing firearms prevent tragedy?

• Suicide: Over the past decade, the firearm suicide rate among young people has increased faster than any other age group, and one study showed that more than 80 percent of children under the age of 18 who died by gun suicide used a firearm belonging to a parent or relative.
• Mass Shootings: In mass shootings at PreK-12 schools, more than 80 percent of shooters used a firearm owned by a family member.
• Self-Inflicted and Unintentional Injuries: Studies indicate that proper firearm storage can reduce the risk of self-inflicted and unintentional firearm injuries among children and teens compared to households that did not safely store firearms.

It is also important to know that as of January 1, 2026, Illinois law requires gun owners to safely store firearms where children or others who should not have access, may gain access.  Firearms must be stored in a locked container, properly engaged to render the firearm inaccessible or unusable to any person other than the owner or other authorized user. Under the Illinois Safe Gun Storage Act, gun owners may face a civil penalty ranging between $500 up to $10,000 for violations of the Act.

Need more information on how to secure your firearms? Please visit the Safe Firearm Storage Sheet.

In addition to storing any guns securely, we are also asking you to prioritize communication. If you overhear anyone talking about or threatening to commit an act of violence–either toward themselves or others–please contact your local police department, school district, or Illinois Safe2Help, where you can provide information anonymously and confidentially. We want to intervene, but you are the eyes and ears of the community, and your responsible reporting could help us prevent a tragedy.

Finally, we want you to know that if you or someone you know are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 for free and confidential phone support. This help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Thank you for your consideration. Please contact us with any questions.

Amber Quirk, Regional Superintendent, DuPage Regional Office of Education
Robert Berlin, State's Attorney, DuPage County State's Attorney's Office
James Mendrick, Sheriff, DuPage County Sheriff's Office
Brian King, President, DuPage County Chiefs of Police Association

• Evacuation: When conditions are safer outside than inside a building. Requires all staff and students to leave the building immediately. May also include moving to each building’s off-site evacuation location.  
• Hold In Place And Teach: When there is an incident occurring inside the school (i.e. medical emergency, escalating student). For hazardous material release outdoors with toxic vapors, students and staff are to remain in their classrooms, windows and doors are sealed and all ventilation systems are shut off.
• Secure Building And Teach: When there is a hazard outside the school building and/or when conditions are safer inside a building than outside. Instruction and all normal indoor work activity may continue as scheduled, unless otherwise directed.  
• Violent Critical Incident (VCI)/ALICE: Clear and specific language is used to identify the location of intruder. Staff should utilize the best response option for their circumstance.  
• Tornado: Students and staff drop low, take cover under furniture, cover eyes, head with hands and arms and protect internal organs.

We are committed to providing the safest possible environment for our students and staff by taking proactive steps in securing our schools. We want to ensure they have a safe place to learn, work and grow. To maintain our safety standards and adapt to the societal threat of a violent intruder inside our school, we have adopted ALICE proactive strategies, helping to maintain our compliance with the Federally recommended guidelines.
 
ALICE empowers individuals to participate in their survival using proactive options-based responses. ALICE is an acronym for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate. Our staff will be fully trained on the ALICE strategies through online classes and hands-on training.

Woodridge School District 68 prepares for a variety of emergencies through ISBE mandated drills, annual safety audit meetings, building-level crisis teams, and collaboration with the Woodridge Police Department and Lisle-Woodridge Fire Protection District.

Emergencies range from weather (tornado, storm) to building-based unsafe situations and even community emergencies. In most instances, district personnel (building or district-level administrators) manage the situation and provide guidance to staff members. However, there could be an emergency situation where outside authorities (Police or Fire Department officials) are the leaders with our administrative staff supporting and following the directions given by others.

In the event it is not safe to remain in a school building but is safe to leave the school, students will be escorted to predetermined emergency shelter locations. With this action, parents will be notified of an off-site reunification location. There will be a high level of security in allowing children to leave the site and reunite with their families, including reviewing identification. Woodridge 68 will make every attempt to communicate with parents. Although difficult to do, parents should remain calm and wait for information and direction from the district.

As Woodridge 68 is prepared, it is also important for families to prepare for potential emergency situations. Below are suggested measures families can take:

• Talk to your child: Talk to your child about the possibility of emergencies and that adults will do everything they can to keep them safe.
• Can we reach you?: Have up-to-date phone numbers and email addresses in PowerSchool so school personnel can keep you informed.
• Keep emergency contacts up to date: Keep your emergency contacts in PowerSchool up to date in the event that there is a situation where you cannot get to the reunification site and your child needs to be released to another family member or friend. Let your child know who may pick them up if it isn’t you.
• Vigilance starts at home: Parents should actively engage their children in conversation about school and friends, watch for changes in mood or behavior, and monitor social media use.
• Encourage student reporting: Encourage your child to tell a trusted adult when another student threatens the school or talks about committing acts of violence.
• Awareness when on school property: Pay attention to your surroundings when on school property, in the parking lot and in the hallways.

For more information and tips on preparing your child for emergency situations, visit Ready.gov.

Eligibility
Any enrolled student is eligible for coverage.

K-12 accident plans available

• School Time Accident Only
• 24-Hour Accident Only
• Interscholastic Sports
• 24-Hour Dental

All available plans are offered by Special Markets Insurance Consultants, Inc. View the online enrollment tool at www.k12specialmarkets.com.

Payment
Parents or guardians of students are responsible for enrollment and premium payment.

Links to more information

Voluntary Student Accident Insurance Brochure
Coverage Descriptions, Benefit Schedules, Coverage Periods and Rates

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