Safety & Security

WMHS Safety & Security

We believe that student safety is all encompassing. So to that end, you will find information in this email about our student programs, safety and security protocols, and traffic plans in and around WMHS.

Arrival and Dismissal  

Please see the attached map for drop off and pick up of students, bus zones at WMHS, and student parking. Some key highlights:

• Student drop off and pick up should take place on the south side of WMHS (we have two queue points: one east of the flagpole and one west)
  • East drop off/pick up lane is accessed off CR9 & Saratoga St
  • West drop off/pick up lane is accessed off CR62E and Eagle Way (West of the school)
• Please pull all the way up to next car in front of you in the drop off/pick up lanes before allowing students to exit or enter the vehicle
  • For the east line please pull all the way around and back south toward CR62E
  • For the west line please pull all the way around and back toward the west end of our school
• Please have all students exit the right side of the vehicle onto a sidewalk
• Please yield to cars in through lane when exiting the drop off/pick up lane
• Buses will drop off students on the north side of WMHS
• Student parking will be on the south side of WMHS

Please take note that speed limits have changed on the roads surrounding WMHS, new safety precautions are being put in place by the town daily surrounding our campus, and the speed limit on campus and in parking lots is 10 mph.

Students that are walking and/or riding their bike to school from Three Silos should cross County Road 9 at Saratoga St where there is a crosswalk and where WMHS will staff a crossing attendant.

Students that are walking and/or riding their bike to school from Buffalo Creek should navigate to the intersection of CR9 and Washington Ave at the new four-way stop. There is now a crosswalk going east/west across CR9 and north/south across Washington Ave.

Student Culture

One of the first steps towards safety and security is student connections. These are connections to personal interests and goals, connections to one another, and connections to trusted adults at WMHS. In addition to our focus on relevance and access to grade-level standards for all students, we prioritize student connections through:

• Comprehensive Advisory classes for all students both middle and high school to build relationships with peers and adults, explore colleges & careers, and build out career & academic plans.
• Peer to peer mentoring through leadership classes.
• Anti-bullying programming through Advisory and WEB (Where Everyone Belongs) programming.

We also teach and encourage students, staff and families to “See Something, Say Something.” Safe2Tell Colorado provides an anonymous way for students, parents, school staff and community members to report concerns regarding their safety. Report a safety concern on the Safe2Tell website here or call 1-877-542-7233. Students may also report concerns to any adult in school.

Personnel and Roles at WMHS

At WMHS we have staff and teams that are solely responsible for student safety and planning for crisis situations and emergencies, while also working in conjunction with other front office staff, teachers, and coaches. While some of these individuals may have multiple roles in our building, student safety is always at the forefront of their mind.

• Student Safety Team: composed of members from our administrative team; our full-time sheriff’s deputy/school resource officer; staff with backgrounds in social work, mental health, and counseling; former combat veterans; staff with law enforcement experience.
  • Weekly meetings to talk through situations requiring proactive and reactive responses
  • Responds to WMHS crises and emergencies
    • Table-top conversations and emergency preparedness
  • Plan for and facilitate Lockdown Drills
• Full-time School Resource Officer (SRO)
  • Their office is near the school’s front entrance.
  • The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) has an office on Main Street, with five additional deputies who live in and respond to calls in Wellington.
  • LCSO trains annually as an agency on active shooter responses.
  • LCSO has expressed to PSD that the agency is comfortable with one SRO and will re-evaluate staffing on a quarterly basis with the district, as outlined in the agency’s contract with PSD.
• Full-time Campus Security Officer (CSO)
  • Trains/prepares for emergencies with the SRO. 
  • Either the CSO or another LCSO deputy will cover for the WMHS SRO if they go to one of the elementary schools. 
• Mental health supports
  • Four counselors
  • Mental health specialist 5-days per week
  • Behavior support paraprofessionals with social work backgrounds
  • PSD has a full-time threat assessment team dedicated to working with WMHS and community partners when a safety concern or threat is reported.

Protocols 

• PSD follows Standard Response Protocols.
• Annual Standard Response Protocol training with staff and students (we tailor this to our building, teaching people how to respond depending on their location in the school).
• Schools are required to complete emergency drills, including monthly fire drills and three lockdown drills during the school year. Fire/law enforcement partners participate and give feedback.
• WMHS will practice monthly safety drills that will include Holds (Stay in room or area, hallways remain clear), Secure (Get inside, lock outside doors), Shelter in Place (stay in rooms), and Lockdown (Locks, lights, out of sight).
• Annual PSD crisis conference for the WMHS student safety team to emphasize ongoing learning alongside multiple law enforcement agencies and other campuses within PSD.

Systems/building infrastructure 

• Single-point of entry during the school day
  • Outside doors closed, and locked, during the school day
    • Student safety team will get text alerts for designated open doors.
  • Security camera monitoring stations
• Classroom emergency call buttons for staff to alert the front office in the event of an emergency.
• Internal and external video cameras monitoring the campus.
• Increased line of sight throughout the building to see and assess crisis situations.
• Spaces specifically fortified and identified for lockdown scenarios.
• Active monitoring of individuals on campus:
  • In 2022, PSD started using the nationally recognized Raptor system in all schools to check in/background check all visitors and volunteers.
  • Parking Permit Program for students and staff (accountability for vehicles on campus)