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Arlington ISD Safety

Working to Keep our Students and Staff Safe

Information

Plans

Protocols

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We know your student’s safety is the most important thing in the world. Threats are real. So is our commitment to your student’s safety.

A clear plan makes all the difference.

Video: FAQs from Parents Answered by Arlington ISD Security Team

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In the event of an emergency, clarity is key.

Here are the terms you need to know:

A LOCKDOWN is a direct threat or hazard to people or school property. Threats can include parental custody disputes, intruders in/on the campus, active shooters or any other event that threatens the lives of students and staff. “Lockdown” uses classrooms and school security actions to protect students and staff from threats.

What students and staff hear:

"We are in lockdown. Use the LACE / Lock protocol to lockdown in the nearest safe place."

Example:

There is a person causing a severe safety threat on the property.

What it means:

There could be a report of an armed intruder or any person who is posing a possible direct threat to the campus and the students, staff and visitors present.

What we'll do:

Arlington ISD Security and local law enforcement will work together to identify and contain the threat as fast as possible.

What you should do:

Understand that telephones at the school or location will go unanswered. Staff are in lockdown for their protection and will not answer phones. Look for updates by text message, email, the campus Facebook page or the Security Tracker. The scene is unsafe. Stay a safe distance away and wait for instructions from the district and law enforcement.

SHELTER is a threat or hazard outside of the school building. Whether it's due to police activity in the immediate neighborhood or a dangerous animal on the playground, "Shelter" uses the security of the physical facility to act as protection. There is no immediate threat to students or staff and the school day continues inside classrooms.

What you'll hear:

"There is a safety threat outside the facility."

Example:

There is police activity in the area; there is a barking dog on the playground; there is a suspicious vehicle parked near the football field.

What it means:

The situation does not currently pose a known threat as long as students, staff and visitors are inside the building.

What we'll do:

Get all students, staff and visitors inside the building, lock all doors from the inside, monitor the situation and send notifications to families and staff.

What you should do:

Look for text and email updates. Because the threat is not in the school, it is unsafe for you to come to the school as it could place you near the external threat. Please do not come to the school during a shelter event.

What you'll hear:

"The National Weather Service has issued a severe weather alert. Take shelter on campus and follow severe weather procedures."

Example:

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for Tarrant County.

What it means:

A Tornado or Severe Thunderstorm WARNING means that the hazard has been spotted or is indicated on radar.

What we'll do:

Arlington ISD staff, students and visitors will move to the safest locations within each facility affected by the warning and take cover until the severe weather passes. We will notify families when, where and how to pick up students as quickly as possible after the storm has passed.

What you should do:

Take shelter in the nearest safe location, away from windows and on the ground floor if possible. Know that school personnel are getting your kids to safety. Do not drive to the school as vehicles are unsafe during severe wind, hail and flooding events. Look for updates by text message, email, the campus Facebook page or the Security Tracker.

What you'll hear:

"There's a potentially hazardous situation outside of the facility."

Example:

A train or large truck carrying chemicals is involved in an accident and there is a release of dangerous substances that first responders have deemed a threat to public safety.

What it means:

First responders have declared that the area outside of the facility is not safe at that time. No one will be allowed to leave the facility, or enter it from the outside.

What we'll do:

Students, staff and visitors will shelter in place within each facility and Arlington ISD Facility Services will close off the outside air to the facility and remain in constant communication with Arlington Fire officials for further instructions.

What you should do:

Stay away from the facility and look for updates by text message, email, the campus Facebook page or the Security Tracker.

**Important Note**

Any of the above types of emergencies could result in delays in the normal drop-off or release schedule for a campus. We will provide frequent updates to families with schedule changes and drop-off or pick-up locations.

In The Event Of A Lockdown

Our top priority is always protecting your child. Below you'll find our LACE Threat Response Matrix plan that students and staff follow during a lockdown.

LACE Threat Response Matrix

 

  • Lockdown in the nearest safe place - any area with a locked door
  • Assess your surroundings at all times
  • Combat the threat if you have no other choice and cannot escape
  • Escape if you cannot get to a safe place to lock down

Call 911 once you're in a safe place to report the emergency.

When A Serious Threat Occurs

Our LACE Threat Response Matrix ensures everyone is on the same page. In an emergency, it can be challenging to think clearly and know what to do next.

The plan helps staff, students and visitors know what to do, when to do it and where to go.

Because things move quickly during emergency events, we cannot share in advance where everyone should go after the emergency has passed. We know this information is critical so our only goal will be to communicate a meeting location to you as quickly as possible.

As soon as it's safe, we will do everything we can to get you and your child reunited quickly. We will communicate the location, what you need to bring, where to report and anything else you need to know so you and your loved one can be reunited. Follow all instructions from law enforcement.

Communication

In a crisis, accurate information matters.

We are in constant contact with our local Police Departments' command staffs, and we will relay that information directly to the families of our students.

We will verify information from multiple sources so rely on us to relay information as soon as we get it directly from our local police departments.

Notification Chart

Type of Emergency SMS Text Message E-mail Website Facebook Twitter Arlington ISD App

Lockdown

Parents

Campus Staff

Parents

Campus Staff

Security Tracker

Campus

 

Arlington ISD App

Shelter

Parents

Campus Staff

Parents

Campus Staff

       

Weather – No Warning

Parents

Campus Staff

Parents

Campus Staff

 

Campus

District

District

Arlington ISD App

Weather - Warning

Parents

Parents

All Staff

 

Campus

District

District

Arlington ISD App

Hazmat

Parents

Campus Staff

Parents

Campus Staff

Security Tracker

Campus

 

Arlington ISD App

We will communicate with parents via text message and email. The same information will be shared on the campus Facebook page, Arlington ISD App and Security Tracker.

We will communicate with parents via text message and email.

During weather emergencies, we will communicate with parents via text message and email, update the District Facebook page (facebook.com/ArlingtonISD), Twitter (@ArlingtonISD), Arlington AISD App and Security Tracker.

In short: No.

While we understand you feel your place is with your child/children, your presence at the school will only take resources away from protecting your student(s), or placing you in harm's way. Please allow local first responders to handle the situation to restore safety as soon as possible and await confirmation on the reunification process from a safe distance away from the school.

  • Weather emergencies
  • Potentially dangerous people or animals in the vicinity of the school
  • On-campus threat (i.e. active shooter, bomb threat, etc.)

When it comes to your child's safety,
we rely on the experts.

The main goal of the MTAT is to promote a safe school environment by:

  • Identifying students who may pose a risk for violence to self and/or others
  • Assess their risk for engaging in violence or other harmful activities
  • Develop intervention strategies to address the underlying problem that stimulated the behavior

Learn More

Arlington ISD's Security Department Command Staff is comprised of the director, security specialist and two security lieutenants. Each of the Command Staff members has over 25 years of security and emergency response experience. An additional 130 security guards are positioned across the district.

In addition, Arlington ISD contracts with the Arlington Police Department to have highly trained Arlington Police Officers assigned as full-time School Resource Officers (SROs).

From the Arlington ISD Director of Security:

David StevensWelcome to Arlington ISD. I’m David Stevens, your Director of Security for the district. As a father of two, I understand your concerns about the safety of your kids while at school. Our primary goal is to provide everyone a safe and positive learning environment.

I draw upon more than 25 years of law enforcement experience to help our district provide the best practices possible to meet our goal of providing a safe environment. I retired from the Arlington Police Department (APD) to join the district. In my last assignment, I served as the Youth Services commander, encompassing the School Resource Officer (SRO) program and other youth-related community education and crime prevention programs.

The Arlington ISD Security command staff and the APD SRO command staff have worked hand in hand to create a comprehensive threat response and prevention program. Our LACE/LOCK non-sequential threat response matrix is derived from the practices Arlington ISD has had in place for many years, which helps ensure your kids are familiar with our procedures that were developed based on case studies of active threat situations across the country. We regularly review our emergency procedures to ensure they meet the Texas School Safety Center requirements and best practices.

We also employ the “See Something Say Something” campaign, Campus Crime Stoppers and STOPit reporting systems for your kids to anonymously report any issues or concerns. We utilize our Multidisciplinary Threat Assessment Team (MTAT) to work with the Campus Threat Assessment Team (CTAT) at each campus to ensure any threshold-activated incidents are investigated, addressed and monitored.

Thank you for trusting Arlington ISD for your child’s educational needs. Together, we can make a difference.

From our partners at the Arlington Police Department

See Something, Say Something

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Fake Threat. Real Regret.

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Shelter vs.
Lockdown

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Anti-Bullying Efforts

At Arlington ISD, the safety of every student matters to us. One aspect of keeping students safe is doing all we can to ensure no student experiences bullying on school premises. If bullying occurs it should be reported.

Bullying is defined as engaging in written or verbal expression, expression through electronic means, or physical conduct that occurs on school property, at a school-sponsored or school-related activity, or in a vehicle operated by the district and the Board of Trustees or the Board’s designee determines that the behavior:

  1. Has the effect or will have the effect of physically harming a student, damaging a student’s property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of harm to the student’s person or of damage to the student’s property; or is sufficiently severe, persistent, and pervasive enough that the action or threat creates an intimidating, threatening or abusive educational environment for a student.
  2. This conduct is considered bullying if it: exploits an imbalance of power between the student perpetrator who is engaging in bullying and the student victim through the written or verbal expression or physical conduct; and interferes with a student’s education or substantially disrupts the operation of a school.

Cyberbullying is defined as the use of any electronic communication device to engage in bullying or intimidation.

Harassment is defined as repeated threats to cause harm or bodily injury to another student, engaging in intimidating conduct, causing physical damage to the property of another student, subjecting another student to physical confinement or restraint, or maliciously taking any action that substantially harms another student’s physical or emotional health or safety.

Sexual Harassment means to repeatedly engage in unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, sexually abusive or vulgar language or other verbal, visual or physical conduct if such conduct with a student or staff creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive school environment.

Dating violence is the intentional use of physical, sexual, verbal or emotional abuse by a person to harm, threaten, intimidate or control another person with whom the student has or has had a dating relationship, as defined by §71.0021 of the Family Code.

What should a student do if they believe they are being bullied (including cyber bullying), sexually harassed, or are a victim of dating violence?

The student should immediately notify appropriate school personnel, which would include a classroom teacher, a counselor or an administrator of any such behaviors, in accordance with district policy FFH (Local). There is also an option to report bullying anonymously by calling Campus Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County at 817-469-8477 or online at www.469tips.com.

You can also report anonymously using the STOPit website. Users can download the STOPit app from the App Store or Google Play

See Arlington ISD Board of Trustees Policies FFH and FFI for detailed information.

Learn more about what kids, teens and adults can do about bullying at www.stopbullying.gov

We can't guarantee there will never be an emergency during your student's time at Arlington ISD.

But we can guarantee that we have plans and strategies to keep your student safe and to communicate with you.

Thank you for partnering with us as we work together to keep our students safe.