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Safe Schools/Secure Buildings

Between 2019 and 2021, in conjunction with local law enforcement, we conducted a comprehensive Physical Safety Audit of all D15 schools. Each school received feedback on their overall building safety and recommendations to continue to enhance the safety of each building. 

In addition, we have contracted with a nationally recognized school security expert to support us in identifying and implementing additional best practices in safety and security. We will continue to work on improving our safety practices based on the recommendations from our local law enforcement and our safety consultant. 

School Threats Taken Seriously: If students write or talk about injuring or killing another student, staff member, or any other person or about using weapons through any media, these statements will be taken as serious threats. All reports of such threats or statements will be fully investigated. If the information is substantiated, the student(s) involved will be disciplined as appropriate under district and/or building policies and local municipal ordinances. It is important for students to think about what they say, especially when angry or upset. Teachers, social workers, school psychologists, administrators, and services are available to assist students with behavioral or anger management issues.

Crisis Plan

  • Standardized School Crisis Plan: The implementation of a Standardized School Crisis Plan, created in conjunction with representatives from police and fire departments, is designed to enable school personnel to respond appropriately to a variety of emergency and/or crisis situations that may occur on or near a school.
     

  • District 15 Safety Committee: Safety is the shared responsibility of all members of our community. The formation of a District 15 Safety Committee that is composed of parents, teachers, administrators, and representatives from police and fire departments from Hoffman Estates, Palatine, and Rolling Meadows that meets quarterly to review and improve on district-wide safety policies and practices. Our safety partners assist us with annual safety training exercises that focus on annual drills per Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) guidelines with staff and students observed by local first responder agencies for both timely and effective implementation. They provide training and serve as members of school safety teams. Additionally, they keep us up-to-date on recommendations from industry experts.
     

  • School Threat Assessment Teams: Each of our 20 schools has established a Threat Assessment Team that takes the lead on safety at the building level. We also have a district  Threat Assessment Team. These teams include building administration, mental health staff, and school resource officers. Our procedures and protocols were developed in alignment with the University of Virginia and are designed to help identify, investigate and respond to all threats with a multidisciplinary approach to ensure safety for all students and staff.
     

  • Staff Training: Every member of a school helps enhance or diminish the overall safety of the school. With that in mind, our Principals and Assistant Principals play a critical role in leading the charge of a safe school. They meet monthly with their safety team, schedule drills and look for ways to improve the overall safe operations of their building. 
     

  • CrisisGo: We utilize this digital app at all of our schools. CrisisGo allows for emergency alerts and streamlines communication between school staff and our first responders through an incident management system. 
     

  • Mass Communications: We utilize the District’s mass communication tools, allowing communications to be sent rapidly to parents via phone, text, and/or e-mail.
     

  • Community Partners: We have established many community partnerships for therapeutic services for students and as a support to their families, such as the Bridge and Amita Health. Additional partners are the POC and the United Palatine (UP) Coalition Wellness team, which includes multiple community agencies that provide parent education, wellness resources, and connection to community services for students and families.

Secure Buildings

District 15 has made substantial investments in the ongoing improvement of the physical security of our 20 schools and 3 ancillary buildings. Many of the improvements, however, are not “advertised” in order to to safeguard the integrity of the safety enhancement. To that end, here’s what we have in place:

  • Surveillance Cameras: We have exterior and interior cameras at schools, including a 360-degree surveillance system, which also allows office staff to monitor all entrances.
     

  • Secure Entry Vestibules: Within the last five years, each school has had a secure video entry installed in which a visitor can only enter the office when “buzzed” in by the secretary, clerical or building administrator. Visitors can speak with the office staff, drop off or pick up items from the vestibule without ever entering the school. If a visitor enters the building, they cannot gain access to the building interior without being allowed into the larger building by a member of the office staff. 
     

  • Visitor Management System: During the 2017-18 school year, a visitor management system was added, which allows schools to screen and track visitors requesting access into our schools to attend a meeting, volunteer, etc. This system is called Raptor. Raptor screens against the Sex Offender registry, other custom databases, including those with custody orders and banned visitor status. It also flags visitors that are deemed security risks. 
     

  • 911 and integrated intercoms: All phones have immediate access to 911 and an intercom system in which they can notify the building of any safety concerns they see or hear. 
     

  • Silent Alarms: each school includes the installation and regular testing of silent alarms.
     
  • Panic Buttons: All Main Offices have easily accessible panic buttons that connect directly to our local police departments. 
     

  • Strobe lights: All gymnasiums and cafeteria/multi-purpose rooms have added strobe lights to alert occupants of an emergency announcement that may otherwise be hard to hear in noisy spaces such as PE and lunch.
     

  • Signage: Interior and exterior signage to all doors within our schools to serve as a reminder to staff and students not to open exterior doors to strangers and to direct visitors to our front door – the only door that accepts visitors.
     
  • Playgrounds: To reduce unnecessary individuals being on school property our playgrounds are closed to the community during school hours. 
     

  • School Resource Officers: We have School Resource Officers (SROs) dedicated to D15 schools. They have offices in our junior high schools and are assigned to corresponding feeder elementary schools for support and to assist school officials in maintaining a safe, orderly, and caring educational environment for all students. The officers provide a variety of services to students, parents, and staff and serve as positive role models for all students. They meet with individual students, small groups of students, and entire classes to discuss various aspects of the law and procedures of the court system. They are available to discuss specific situations with parents and staff. The officers are also available to elementary school parents, staff, and students.