Safety and Security

We are all too aware of the impact of violence in our communities. Keeping our family members safe is something we think about every day. The Center School District is a family. Family members do whatever they can to keep everyone in their family safe and happy.

The Center security plan is centered on three basic concepts - preparation, communication, and multiple layers of protection.

Preparation

The PREPARE team is a district wide group of staff and community members who are focused on making and reviewing plans for a wide variety of emergency situations from natural disasters to violent events. Monthly district-wide meetings, quarterly meetings at the builidng level, annual review and revision. The emphasis is based on the letters of the word PREPARE -

P—Prevent and prepare for crises

R—Reaffirm physical health & welfare, and perceptions of safety & security

E—Evaluate psychological trauma risk

P—Provide interventions

R—Respond to mental health needs

E—Examine the effectiveness of crisis preparedness

The team maintains a detailed binder of procedures for each district building with specific guidelines for different types of crisis situations. The procedures lead to regular drills that ensure that staff and students will respond effectively during an emergency.

Communication

One of the best ways to prevent emergency situations is to have consistent, high-quality communication within the schools. This includes communication between students, staff, parents, community resources, and community members. A high trust environment with a high sense of belonging among everyone encourages communication that will help to identify potentially dangerous situations before they become a crisis. The Center School District works every day to ensure that communication flows smoothly between all levels and members of the organization. Tools like Thought Exchange and Satchel Pulse are formal methods of making sure that we all listen to each other and adjust our policies and actions accordingly. Center is an active participant in Courage2Report, a state-run program that provides a way for anyone to reports safety issues anonymously

Multiple Layers of Protection

The safety and security plan involves multiple layers of protection for our students and staff. The plan starts and ends with building strong relationships within each school. Studies show that people who feel connected to people in their school will almost never commit violent acts in the school. Building a sense of family within the school and ensuring that every student has a relationship with a caring adult in the building is one of our highest priorities.

The layers in between include:

  • Secure access at each building requiring visitors to be admitted to three separate doors before having access to the academic areas

  • Screening procedures for everyone who enters the building

  • Extensive video surveillance

  • Presence of security officers at each secondary building

  • Strong relationships with the law enforcement agencies

  • Automatic notifications of any doors that are left unlocked during school hours. 

  • Annual training is emergency response procedures for all district staff

  • Regular intruder drills conducted with staff and students

Earthquake Preparedness

Read information from the Ready.Gov on best practices to prepare for earthquakes.