ROBBINSDALE, Minn. — The Robbinsdale Area Schools Board chair sent a new letter to parents, staff and community members, expressing regret about the tone of an earlier joint letter from the board about the status of safety in the district’s schools.

“I regret that the letter the school board sent on Monday, Nov. 20, did not strike an appropriate balance between transparency and our best collective judgment,” Board Chair Helen Bassett wrote on Wednesday. “The intention of the letter wasn’t to cause further alarm for our school district’s families, the great majority of whom have experienced a happy and smooth school year.”

In Monday’s letter, board members offered an apology “for not making a statement to our stakeholders regarding the alleged sexual assault, weapons, fights and other harmful incidents that have occurred,” after two semiautomatic guns were found in separate student backpacks at a high school in the district.

However, Bassett acknowledged the Monday letter wasn’t worded well.

“I see how the letter sent could lead some to feel our schools are unsafe. It should have been more clear,” Bassett wrote.

The new letter explains district safety protocols in depth, and states, “nearly all of the situations alluded to in the Nov. 20 letter occurred at a middle or high school, and each incident resulted in communications to the families of the schools involved. To be clear: every serious incident or situation has been communicated to the families of students who were affected, as well as the staff in those buildings. The school board receives copies of these communications.”

Read Wednesday’s full letter below:

Dear Robbinsdale Area Schools families, staff and community:

I regret that the letter the school board sent on Monday, Nov. 20, did not strike an appropriate balance between transparency and our best collective judgment. The intention of the letter wasn’t to cause further alarm for our school district’s families, the great majority of whom have experienced a happy and smooth school year.

I see how the letter sent could lead some to feel our schools are unsafe. It should have been more clear. Here’s what you should know:

• When there’s an emergency or incident at a school, the district communicates with families at that school to inform them about what’s happened. This is done as quickly as the situation allows. We also do our best to provide accurate information as transparently as data privacy laws permit.
• The district doesn’t communicate with all schools about incidents and emergencies that occur in one school. If something happens at one school, for example, we inform the families impacted at that school. We do not inform the families at an elementary school miles away. This communication best practice is common among public school districts across the country.

Nearly all of the situations alluded to in the Nov. 20 letter occurred at a middle or high school, and each incident resulted in communications to the families of the schools involved. To be clear: every serious incident or situation has been communicated to the families of students who were affected, as well as the staff in those buildings. The school board receives copies of these communications.

The district takes all incidents seriously and follows the standard processes in place, provides due process for all students, and ensures the data privacy of students and staff is protected.

I hear your concerns, and want you to know that our schools are as safe as we can make them. For many staff, this district is more than just a place to work – it’s home. A lot of our own children attend these schools or have graduated from them.

When it comes to safety and security, we follow best practices. Our entrances are secure, visitors need to check in, and classroom doors are to be locked. In addition:

• The district uses a tool called “Gaggle” to monitor our student and staff communication platforms to ensure that troubling messages that come through our system are identified.
• We have the “See Something Say Something” anonymous tip line from Sandy Hook Promise that all students, families, community members can access.
• We have strong partnerships with local law enforcement, many positive relationships with students and staff in our schools, and layers of support staff in place to help those who may be struggling.

As a district, we routinely review our best practices and protocols as part of a continuous improvement process. A year ago, following an incident at Sandburg, the school board directed the then-superintendent to ensure law enforcement would be contacted for every serious incident. To my knowledge, this has happened, including in the incidents alluded to in the Nov. 20, 2023, letter.

In my capacity as the then-chair of the school board in November of 2022, I took two actions related to school safety: I initiated a School Safety Critical Incident Review, in a closed session of the board. Following that, I developed recommendations related to weapons and reporting protocols which I submitted to the full board. I expect the Ad Hoc Safety Committee as well as our Policy Governance Committee to once again review those recommendations, and to bring any policy changes forward for full board discussion. Ideally that work can be concluded within the timeline suggested for the school board’s report back to the community in February, 2024.

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