Threat Assessment

  • Guiding Principles

    The community of the West Linn-Wilsonville School District embraces the concept of circles of support to ensure that every child knows they are a competent contributor to the school community and that they belong. Our district has many structures for providing students with the support that they need to excel, to solve problems, and to participate fully in the community. These structures are evident in every building in our district, and promote feelings of inclusion, belonging, and growth mindset.

    In very rare occasions, a student may demonstrate, through communication or behavior, an action that may be deemed as potentially harmful to the physical well-being of other students or staff. In these very rare occasions, an additional circle of support is formed, known as the Threat Assessment Team. The Threat Assessment Team is convened by the Principal when there is significant concern in regard to student or staff safety that is not able to be mitigated at the building level. In these cases, the Threat Assessment Team comes alongside the principal to help understand the student and the context, to ensure that all students remain safe during the process, and to design plans to help move beyond the crisis event in ways that support a sense of community in the building.

    The purpose of the Threat Assessment Team is to support the building administrators in the following ways:

    • Provide a framework for gathering information about the student, the circumstances, and the potential risk of the situation
    • Support the synthesizing of information in a timely manner and reaching a grounded decision regarding the potentially harmful behavior
    • Facilitate a comprehensive plan to support the physical safety of all students while helping the student in crisis return to a safe and connected place in the school community
    • Provide follow-up regarding implementation of safety monitoring and management plans
    • Develop and maintain a sense of psychological safety among students, staff, and parents
    • Connect with broader community resources and responses when necessary

    The Discipline Process (addressing violations of the Student Code of Conduct) and the Threat Assessment process are parallel processes with different but equally important purposes. Discipline is designed to support the order and stability of the school and to change a student's behavior. The Threat Assessment Process is designed to assess evidence of intent toward a dangerous or violent action and manage risk factors affecting a student's behavior, and is in no way meant to supplant the Principal's decisions around student discipline. Both discipline and safety processes need to work in a complementary way to best support the community of the school and the needs of the student in crisis.

    There may be times when a student's behavior is potentially violent and worthy of school discipline, but if the behavior does not involve a specific threat, a full Threat Assessment Team may not be necessary.

    If a threat of harm presents an imminent danger to students or staff, school staff will always follow established emergency procedures:

    • call 911
    • contact District Office
    • follow district emergency procedures
     
    Other Phone Numbers:
     
    • Clackamas County Urgent Mental Health Center: 503-722-6200 (non-emergency line) - This is the agency formerly known as Centerstone and Riverstone
    • Juvenile Intake Assessment Center (JIAC): 503-650-3180
    • Clackamas County Crisis Line: 503-655-8585