At the St. Helens School District, we are committed to maintaining a strong partnership with parents like you as we work together to provide the very best education for our students. One fundamental aspect of this partnership is open communication. 

At approximately 10:00 am this morning, the fire alarm for the portable buildings went off, which prompted the immediate evacuation of the students and staff. The rest of the school was placed on a 'Hold' while local first responders assessed the situation. 

At the same time, administrators received notification via our electronic monitoring systems of district devices that a student typed they had an explosive device in their possession. Law enforcement was immediately notified, and the student, who was already outside the school during the evacuation, was pulled aside to determine the validity of the claim by administrators and to keep all students and staff safe. Law enforcement arrived quickly, conducted a search, and determined the student was not in possession of any explosive device, and there was no immediate threat. A threat assessment protocol has been initiated to determine if any additional actions need to take place beyond disciplinary action for violating district policy.

At approximately 10:15 a.m., the ‘Hold’ was lifted, and classes resumed their regular schedule and evacuated students and staff returned to the portables. It was determined that a fire alarm was pulled from inside one of the portables. 

For the safety of our students and staff, our district, along with local emergency response personnel, follow the I Love U Guys Safety Protocols. If you would like further information on how we use these protocols to respond to incidents when they arise, you may review this information on our webpage HERE. 

All those within the building are safe, and we would like to thank students and staff for calmly and quickly following the protocols set in place for such events to ensure the safety of everyone involved.