Emergency and Safety

Keeping our students and staff safe at school is a top priority. The office of School Safety and Emergency Management provides oversight to all district sites under the One Schoolhouse approach. Our mission is to promote a culture of safety and preparedness and a learning environment in which all students can succeed while feeling happy, healthy, and safe. This work is overseen by the Director of School Safety and Emergency Management, Jonah Stinson.

Be Prepared for a School Emergency

• Ensure your child’s emergency contact information is accurate and current.
• Become familiar with your school’s emergency communication procedures. The district will provide accurate and timely information in the event of an emergency.

In Case of a School Emergency

Do Not

• Call the school immediately (keep working lines open for emergency personnel)
• Attempt to go to your child’s school until it is safe to do so

Do

• Rely on official communication from school or public safety officials
• Call the Emergency Hotline at 676-6400 if phones are working
• Turn on your radio and TV for updates
  • KAFE Radio (104.1 FM)
  • KOMO Radio (1000 AM)
  • KIRO Radio (710 AM)
  • KOMO-TV (Channel 4)
  • KING-TV (Channel 5)
  • KIRO-TV (Channel 7)
• Check Twitter
  • Bellingham Public Schools: @BhamSD
  • Bellingham Police: @BellinghamPD
• Use texts instead of voice calls; if regional telecommunication infrastructure is overwhelmed, short texts will have a better chance of getting through to the recipient.

Important Emergency Procedures for Parents/Guardians:

• While a lockdown is in progress, police have asked that we remind you that it is critically important not to come to the school. This puts you at risk if there is an issue occurring in the neighborhood and diverts critical resources and attention from protecting the school. Parent traffic will block first responders trying to access the site. Instead, stay tuned for information from the district or local media.
• Every school has a designated off-site evacuation location and a parent reunification area. This would be used if police determine it is not safe to keep students on site due to a situation occurring in the school or area. If students and staff are being relocated to an off-site location, you will be notified through your SchoolMessenger contact preferences with instructions on where/how to reunite with your child. Off-site locations are not publicized in advance for safety reasons.

In the case of a true school emergency, we will call the primary phone number we have on file in Skyward Family Access and any other phone numbers you have added to SchoolMessenger.

• Please take a moment to ensure the accuracy of your contact information on file at your school. You can view this information in your Skyward Family Access account.
• If you need to update your contact preferences in SchoolMessenger for emergency and other types of messaging, you can do so in Skylert or contact your school office.

Learn more about what Bellingham Public Schools is currently doing to keep students and staff safe.