Bellville Independent School District » Departments » Safety & Security
Leaders, teachers, board members, and officers meet regularly to reflect on lessons learned, assess our practices and procedures, and prioritize steps we can take to increase the effectiveness of our measures. Overall our conversations focus on five trains of thought:
The first step is to promote the safety and well-being of our children and employees is to ensure each feels seen and valued. We believe that individuals who feel seen, loved, and safe do not plot harm against others. Parents, love on your children. Teachers, love on your children. Children, be kind and love one another.
The next step to promoting the safety and well-being of our children and employees is to ensure that every single individual in our Brahma Family recognizes warning signs and takes action to report even the slightest concerns. This includes on-going communication between campus administrators and SRO's relative to potential threats, and ongoing conversations with our students and staff about warning signs and how to report them.
The district will also be taking steps to connect access to our campus security cameras with local law enforcement agencies, transitioning to a school-wide alert system through our new phone lines (or other alert system), and requiring all students and staff to wear school-issued ID badges with quick reference to the StayAlert reporting system upon return in the 2022-2023 school year.
The next measures are necessary when the first two measures have failed.
Preventative measures to provide physical security on our campuses include but are not limited to the presence of School Resource Officers (SRO's) on our campuses, secure points of entry, regular perimeter patrols, and our camera systems.
BISD is pursuing enhancements to these barriers by considering the sustainability of increasing the number of SRO's serving daily in BISD, facilities enhancements at each of our campuses, creating mobile access to our cameras for administrators, SRO's, and local law enforcement agencies, and equipping all teachers with additional counter attack resources such pepper/wasp/bear spray. BISD is also pursuing the purchase of shields and breaching tools at each campus.
BISD is additionally researching resources and associated costs with additional physical deterrents including but not limited to fencing, alarm systems at every access point on every campus, additional and upgraded cameras, and a multitude of other preventative measures that can serve as barriers to keep our schools safe. The measures available to us require financial allocations. The district is in the process of seeking out additional funding sources and prioritizing what we can in our local budget. We are also considering the need to engage the support of our community to generate additional funding for our operational budget to support the ongoing costs associated with increased security measures.
Additionally, BISD has consulted with districts who implement the Guardian Program which allows designated staff members who have volunteered, passed background checks and psychological screenings, completed required training, and been selected to carry legally concealed firearms. The Board of Trustees will take this recommendation from the BISD administrators and collaborating law enforcement officers under advisement at their July 2022 Board Meeting.
Preparation and training for students and staff to respond in the event of a crisis situation has been an ongoing process in BISD and we will continue and enhance these efforts with more frequent drills with students, staff, and substitutes including processes for counter attacks, locking down, and evacuating. We will also continue to conduct "stop-the-bleed" training and training for our administrators, SRO's, and select staff for responsive actions during crisis command.
Response Control
Plans for crisis management in the aftermath of a situation occurring include awareness of the district's response and communication plan. It is critical that all parents and employees have up-to-date contact information in our Ascender portal to be eligible to receive communications from the District. The District will rely on phone messaging through the SchoolMessenger system to communicate necessary information if an incident were to occur.
It is important that parents understand that their role is to receive the information shared by the district and respond accordingly. Flooding phone lines or our campus sites may disrupt the ability of first responders and school personnel to have the expedient access needed in crisis situations. The District has three pre-planned sites for reunification following crisis situations. The specific sites are intentionally not shared in advance to ensure that we are not creating a secondary target site and so that the actual site selected is responsive to the specific conditions of the situation.
It is critical that our parents do their part in our plan by ensuring the district has accurate contact information on file and following the guidance given to allow optimal responsive measures by all involved if a situation were to occur at one of our schools.
We value the lives of our students and staff beyond what words can convey. We take the responsibility for providing safe and secure conditions for our students and staff with the utmost importance and will continue to partner with the dedicated officers who serve and support our schools and community. We know that our employees will do everything possible to protect our children and with preparation and prayer we believe we can continue to be safe and successful in Bellville ISD.
LEADERS OF SAFETY & SECURITY IN BISD:
DR. MICHAEL COOPERSMITH
DR. NICOLE POENITZSCH
BISD PRINCIPALS
BELLVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT
AUSTIN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
BISD
Student and staff safety is
an on-going and continuous process. BISD asks that
all stakeholders,
guardians, staff,
and community members
speak with students about
safety and the need to
report concerns to the
appropriate school
personnel.
CALL/TEXT: (206)-406-6485
ONLINE: www.stayalert.info