Auburn School District

Lockdown/Emergency Communication Process: 

Student and staff safety is our number one priority.  We would like to explain our process for communicating with families regarding school lockdowns.

We want families to be informed as soon as possible when there are potential situations near or at our schools. We will use our mass communication system to communicate with families about lockdowns. 

We have two different kinds of lockdowns:

Lockdown: All exterior doors are locked. No one is allowed in or out of the building. Students and staff remain in their classrooms with the door locked and the shades drawn. Learning continues in the classroom, but everyone stays in place until the lockdown is lifted.

Secure & Teach: All exterior doors are locked. No one is allowed in or out of the building. Students and staff follow the normal schedule, moving between classes inside the building, having lunch and continuing to learn.

Lockdowns are used for a variety of purposes.  Most commonly, the Auburn Police Department or Auburn School District School Resource Officers place a school on lockdown when there is suspected criminal activity near the school.  Schools also can be locked down for natural disasters, chemical leaks or other reasons.

When a school is placed on lockdown, the district office will send email to all families with an email address on file and a text messages to those who have opted-in for text messaging. We will only contact families at the affected schools, not the entire district. Depending on the circumstances, we may call families and post on Facebook.  When a lockdown is lifted, we will communicate via these same channels.

Some lockdown situations last a very short time and families will be notified after the fact about the lockdown.

It is possible other sources may report a lockdown prior to notification from the district.  We want to make sure we are communicating accurate, timely information.  Often, situations requiring a lockdown are fluid and circumstances change quickly.  We will make every effort to inform families as soon as possible.

Our goal is to provide accurate information to families in a timely manner.

Please contact the communications department if you have any questions:

communications@auburn.wednet.edu
or call (253) 931-4713