General School Safety Information

The outside doors to our schools are locked during the school day. Visitors must buzz to get in, identify themselves, and explain why they are visiting the school.  When visiting any Beaver Dam School, all visitors are required to sign in at the main office and receive a visitor’s pass.  If you encounter a door that is open during the school day, please help us by notifying the principal or call the district central office at 920.885.7300.

All schools have video surveillance.

In 2011, the Beaver Dam School District partnered with seven other county school districts, the Dodge County Sheriffs Department, Dodge County SWAT team, and other county first responders to write and adopt a Federally approved emergency response plan.  The plan articulates building and event specific protocols.  Our consortium participates in mock emergency tabletop exercises.  The most recent exercise was conducted at the Dodge County Sheriff’s Department in October of 2012.  The Beaver Dam Police Department ran an active shooter drill in one of our district schools in 2008 and again in 2014.  For safety reasons we will not identify which school.  Our emergency plan is reviewed annually in consultation with the Beaver Dam Police Department.

All staff participate in training and take part in professional development annually regarding our emergency and crisis response plan.  

All schools have articulated procedures that are reviewed and drilled during the school year.  The district regularly reviews our drilling practices and makes updates that are reflective of best practices and recommendations/insights gleaned from emergency response personnel at the local, state and federal level.

The Beaver Dam School District has two full-time police liaison officers.  Beaver Dam High School has one full-time police liaison officer that is an employee of the Beaver Dam Police Department (BDPD).  The middle school and elementary schools share the other police liaison officer who is also an employee of the BDPD and funded by the Beaver Dam School District.

All Beaver Dam Schools have a short and long distance evacuation plan with evacuation locations identified and agreements in place with each location. Evacuation procedures are drilled a minimum of once a year at each school.

For security purposes, the District will not share its emergency response plans with anyone other than staff, first responders, and the school safety consultants we retain. If you would like to discuss this topic in more detail, please contact Superintendent of Schools, Mark DiStefano at 920.885.7300 or email distefanom@bdusd.org.

The District reviews and updates its plan annually.  The district takes available information from other sources as it becomes available to ensure that we are implementing best practices.

The district completed a comprehensive safety audit in 2014.  The audit recommended a four phase upgrade implementation calendar.  With final cameras and door security measures taking place the first part of 2016, three of the four phases will be complete.  The fourth phase involves the remodeling of school entrances.  Through the support of our community, all of the entrances will have completed safety remodels / upgrades by September of 2018.