Oxford Community Schools

Dear Wildcat Families,

As we work towards a successful and safe school year, I wanted to update you on how you and your family can assist in this pursuit.  Threats, concerning information, or situations that administrators and staff should be made aware can occur at all hours of the day or night. This letter is to help inform parents and students on how to best to contact the appropriate personnel in situations concerning school safety depending on when they occur.

If the concerning safety situation occurs during the school hours when office personnel are present, parents, please call your child’s school directly. Let the person answering your call know that it you need to speak with someone concerning an emergency or school safety immediately.  They will make sure you are connected to an administrator, school resource officer or staff member that can help right away. Students, please let a school staff member know immediately and they will help you get your information to the right person.

If the concerning safety situation occurs after-school hours, below is guidance on how best to report the issue based on its level of urgency:

1. If there is an emergency or is an imminent school safety concern call 9-1-1. 9-1-1 will contact our local law enforcement and begin the process of involving appropriate agencies and the school district.
2. If the situation is not suitable for 9-1-1, but it is still imperative that someone be contacted immediately, please call either the Oxford Village police dispatch for schools located within the village (DA, OES, Clear Lake) or Oakland County Sheriff’s Office dispatch (for all schools). Both of these agencies have the cell phones of our school resource officers and administrators and will contact those necessary to be involved immediately.
3. If the information or situation does not fit either of the situations above, but it needs to be addressed by school administrators, then email the appropriate school administrator at the school involved. This solution is to be used in situations that do not pose an urgent safety concern but need to be addressed in timely manner.
4. If the situation or information is not an emergency or of imminent concern and the person reporting the situation or information wants to stay anonymous, then Ok2Say is the appropriate communication tool. Ok2Say is a state-wide and state-run program that focuses on giving students and parents an anonymous reporting tool. Based on the tip, OK2Say has passed along a matter expediently to school administration but this is NOT always the case. Public schools are not privy to the inner workings of Ok2Say and how they decide if a tip gets sent immediately to law enforcement and the school. Do not use Ok2Say if there is an emergency or imminent concern for safety.

Hopefully, this communication helps to establishes guidance for parents and students to report situations that may involve the safety of our schools. I also want to let you know that we are working quickly to hire the newly created position of School Safety Administrator who will oversee the safety and security of the district.  In addition, we are working quickly to fill the Executive Director of School Operations position as well.  In the meanwhile, all of the cabinet-level administrators have taken on the responsibilities of safety and operations until the positions are filled. Together with you, we can help keep all of our schools safe and secure.