Supporting Student Safety and Well-Being

Borg Report September 4, 2025

We’ve had a great first week of the 2025-26 school year. It’s been wonderful to welcome students back into our classrooms and to share with families the many transformations that took place over the summer.

In continuation of the message I shared last week about Westonka’s multifaceted approach to school safety, I want to provide more information on two key ways we’re continuing our commitment to student safety and well-being.

The Standard Response Protocol: A Unified Approach to Safety

Beginning this school year, Westonka is implementing the Standard Response Protocol (SRP), developed by the I Love U Guys Foundation in partnership with local law enforcement. This protocol provides a common language and set of actions for students, staff, and first responders during a wide variety of potential situations. Rather than focusing on specific scenarios, the SRP is based on our response to any given event—making safety actions more clear, consistent, and practiced.

Here are the five SRP actions your student will be learning about and practicing in school:

HOLD – Initiated when the hallways need to be kept clear due to a situation. Students and staff are instructed to clear the halls and remain securely in a classroom or area until the situation is resolved. (Example: Medical emergency in the hallway.)
SECURE – Building locked, and students and activities brought inside as a precaution due to activity in the area, not in the school or on school grounds. Learning continues inside the building with minimal interruption or distractions. (Example: Law enforcement activity in the neighborhood.)
LOCKDOWN – Perceived danger inside or very near the building. All students and staff are trained to get behind a locked door - Locks, Lights, Out of Sight. In the rare event that a student cannot get behind a locked door, they are trained in self-evacuation protocols. (Example: Threat inside the building.)
EVACUATE – Students and staff are moved to a new or safe location due to a situation in or near the school building. (Examples: Gas leak in the school.)
SHELTER – Students and staff take shelter due to a situation in or near the school. (Example: Tornado warning.)

Please watch a short video for more details:

By practicing these protocols, our staff and students are better prepared to respond calmly and confidently if a situation arises. The SRP is also being used at Our Lady of the Lake School in Mound and is supported by the Orono and Minnetrista police departments, our School Resource Officers (SROs), and the Mound Fire Department.

Supporting the Whole Child: Mental Health & Wellness

We recognize that conversations around safety can raise anxiety—for students and adults alike. Our approach to student well-being includes not just physical safety, but mental health and emotional support.

Through our Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework, we proactively identify students' academic, behavioral, and mental health needs and connect families with appropriate support services. Westonka’s licensed staff are trained in early-onset mental health and suicide prevention, and the district provides co-located mental health and chemical health services through Relate Counseling in our schools.

If you have mental health concerns about your child:

Shirley Hills and Hilltop primary school families can contact their child's teacher, school principal, or school social worker, who will guide next steps.
Westonka Middle School and High School students or families should reach out to their school counselor.

You can also find a list of student and family support resources, including resources for talking to children about traumatic events, on our website www.westonka.k12.mn.us/departments/special-services

At Westonka, we believe that safe schools are supportive schools. By combining strong emergency preparedness with responsive mental health systems, we are creating environments where students feel safe, supported, and ready to learn. Thank you for your continued trust and partnership.

Sincerely,

Kevin Borg, Superintendent
Westonka Public Schools
(952) 491-8001
borgk@westonka.k12.mn.us