Redwood High School recently announced new procedures regarding entering and exiting campus.

By Ayla Ozturk

On Monday, May 1, 2023, Redwood High School administrators announced new procedures regarding entering and exiting campus in response to a threat of gun violence.

The weekend of Saturday, April 29, Redwood High School received a shooting threat via a social media post.

After an investigation by the Visalia Police Department, the threat was deemed a hoax. The 16-year-old who wrote the post was taken into police custody.

“Due to last week’s threat, the following gate procedures are now in place,” Administrators wrote in a message to students, family, and staff.

Opening and closing times are as follows:

Before School

Main Campus-

Open gates:

• Main Office gate
• Main Parking Lot gate

All other entrances will be locked.

Sierra Vista-

Open gates:

• Front door

No other entrances on Sierra Vista will be open before school.

After School

Main Campus-

Open gates:

• LJ Williams Theater gate near the Annie R. Mitchell Library (Closes at 3:50 pm)
• Main Office gate
• Main Parking Lot gate (Big gates locked at 4 pm, small gate open)

Sierra Vista-

Open gates:

• Front door
• Portable gate
• Back gate

All entrances at Sierra Vista will be locked by 4 pm.

Johnathan Luna ’24 is a junior at Redwood. “I think the new gate policy was a great choice to have for the safety here on campus. The timings are appropriate and will be easy to proceed,” Luna says. “Sometimes policies and rules may be unnecessary, but I truly find this to be a great initiative for everyone following the occurrence of [that] week’s threat.”

Luna was unaware of the policy change until he was interviewed.

Dina Seoudi ’23, is a senior at Redwood. She says, “I don’t have a problem with it. I wish the LJ gate were open in the mornings and after 5th period when more seniors leave school, though.”

Like Luna, Seoudi did not know about the changes prior to her interview.

“Students should be made aware of the gate changes since some may not be well informed,” Luna says.

Seoudi says, “[The changes] should be posted on Schoology as well because we would actually see it.”

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