10/14/2026
Dear Dayton Families and Community,
Recent events and the conversations that have followed have raised important questions about how our district evaluates potential threats, works with law enforcement, determines when additional security measures are necessary, and communicates with families. These are important questions, and they deserve thoughtful answers. As a parent, I understand the instinct to want every piece of information available when something raises concerns about your child's safety.
As a superintendent, I also have a responsibility to ensure that our decisions are grounded in verified information, established safety protocols, and the guidance of those responsible for evaluating and responding to potential threats. Those two perspectives are not always easy to reconcile. Sometimes the information families understandably want is information we cannot responsibly share. Sometimes the absence of immediate communication is interpreted as an absence of action. And sometimes the very conversations intended to keep people informed can unintentionally make it more difficult for schools to keep students safe.
I want our community to better understand not only what we do when safety concerns arise, but why we do it. Our approach is informed by established school safety practices, including the Oregon Department of Education's Behavioral Safety Assessment framework, the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center's research on preventing targeted school violence, and the Standard Response Protocol developed by the I Love U Guys Foundation. We also recognize that communication is an essential part of school safety. Families should know what to expect from us, how we make decisions, when they will receive information, and what they can do to help.
Linked is an FAQ with answers to questions that have been raised recently, along with others we believe are important for every family to understand. Our commitment is not to communicate everything we hear. Our commitment is to investigate what we hear, respond appropriately to what we learn, communicate what families need to know, and keep student safety at the center of every decision.
I also want to remind families that ParentSquare is one of our primary communication tools, and we encourage all parents and guardians to make sure they are connected. Please take a moment to check your notification settings to ensure you are receiving messages through your preferred method, whether that's email, text, or the ParentSquare app. We've heard from several parents who believed they hadn't received a notification but were able to locate it when they checked their ParentSquare account. We want to make sure important information is reaching everyone, particularly when it involves student safety. If we feel there is an emergency situation that you need to know about immediately, we do have the ability to bypass your settings to send you an instant notification, Finally, if you need assistance accessing ParentSquare or updating your settings, our school office secretaries would be happy to help.
