School Safety
The safety and well-being of our students and staff is our first and most important priority. The Raytown School District follows a developed protocol for dealing with existing and potential student and school crises. We are continuously working to prevent, mitigate, respond to and recover from a wide range of emergencies.
RAYTOWN SAFETY IN THE NEWS
- Technology tracks Raytown school buses, alerts parents of drop off and pick up
- District installs facial recognition tech at Raytown’s two high schools to improve security
- Local school district to use facial recognition software
- Local school districts reassess active shooter plans - KSHB 41 Action News
- Raytown school district holds meeting on school security - KMBC 9 News
- Raytown school leaders talk safety after new violent threat - Kansas City Star
- Do our schools take threats seriously enough? - Kansas City Star
PREVENTION/MITIGATION
We encourage an environment where students, staff, and families feel empowered to report anything that might be suspicious or out of the ordinary; prompt reporting is important in enabling us to be proactive in maintaining a safe school environment.
- Intruder Response Training: All staff is required to participate in annual training on intruder response. This is a physical training facilitated by a 3rd party safety firm. All new staff members also take a 4-hour online course. Substitute teachers are also trained. Additionally, our transportation employees take a 4-hour physical training course geared toward intruders on buses.
- Safety Assessment: This is an ongoing effort in partnership with first responders and a third party safety firm where facilities are assessed with safety as the primary focus. Any points of concern are noted and addressed with best practices.
- Safety Task Force: This is a sub-committee of the Board of Education that meets on a regular basis with a focus on safety accountability for the Raytown School District. This group is made up of various stakeholders such as first responders, administration, teachers, and parents. The group evaluates progress on safety as well as sets goals.
- Online Safety Procedures: For redundancy purposes, emergency operation plans are available online for staff members with appropriate security clearance. There are a variety of supporting materials available as well.
- Quick Reference Guides: These are an abbreviated version of the District emergency operations plan. They give specific directions on what to do for various emergency events. These guides are provided to staff members.
- Tactical Decision Making: This is a training for appropriate staff members geared toward continuous decision-making in the event of an emergency. The training model provides for the ability to make decisions in situations where there are continuous changes in circumstances.
- Armed Security Officers: All middle schools and high schools have armed and trained security officers. Their presence is not only for emergency situations such as an intruder but also for day-to-day issues that might arise.
- Camera System (nearly 1,000): The District has an extensive camera system for both interior and exterior locations of all buildings. The video is recorded and kept on servers for a designated period of time. The monitoring system has a variety of capabilities to enhance safety measures across the District.
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Cameras on Buses: All school buses are equipped with multiple cameras. The video is recorded and kept on servers for a designated period of time.
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School Bus GPS Tracking: Beginning this summer, 2018 school buses will have live GPS tracking capabilities to enhance emergency response.
- Video Integration with Police: Both Raytown and Kansas City Police Departments have live access to video surveillance. This allows for real-time assessments to enhance emergency response.
- Video in Police Cars: The police department also has the capability to view live video feeds of cameras on computers in their vehicles. This allows for real-time assessment to enhance emergency response.
- 750 Radios: Digital radios are in the hands of nearly every staff member in the District. These radios allow for real-time communications for day-to-day operations as well as emergency situations. These radios are also considered a redundancy to other means of communication.
- Radios Integrating with Dispatch: The District's radio system is integrated with police dispatch. These radios are able to make real-time calls to dispatch in the event of an emergency. These radios are considered a redundancy to other means of communication to first responders.
- Panic Buttons: All buildings are equipped with panic buttons that automatically notify police of an emergency situation. These devices are used when direct communication with first responders cannot take place.
- Admin ICS Training: All administrators are trained in Incident Command. This training focuses on how to lead a response to an emergency. It spells out the span of control in various facets of response. The training also compliments the response of first responders.
- Building Site Mapping: All buildings have been photographically site mapped as a redundancy measure that enhances a safety response.
- Electronic Access Control: Multiple doors at every location are equipped with Electronic Access Control. This allows for quick access into a building and maintains closed, locked doors to ensure the maintenance of a single point of entry into the building for non-employees.
- Access Cards to Police: Both Raytown and Kansas City Police are equipped with access cards to allow them quick access into a building from any door with EAC to increase response time to an emergency event.
- Guided Entry: All elementary buildings (secondary coming soon) are equipped with a guided single point of entry that prevents visitors from entering the building beyond the office without permission. All buildings have a single point of entry that is monitored and requires electronic access.
- Police Training in Buildings: Police departments, as well as armed security officers, conduct regular training in various schools around the District. This allows for practice of response and familiarity with the facility.
- Intercom Capabilities: All intercom systems have been upgraded with features that allow for redundancy in communication during an emergency event.
- Employees Call 911: Employees are considered professionals who make rational decisions. They have permission to contact 911 without approval of those above them to enhance the response time in an emergency event.
- MOU’s: Memorandums of Understanding exist between the school district, various agencies, and businesses who understand they have a role in assisting in the response to an emergency situation.
- All Doors Locked at All Times: Classroom doors remain in locked position during the school day as a means of continuous soft lockdown in an effort to reduce exposure and enhance the response time of staff members during an emergency event.
- Visitor Escort Policy: This policy provides accountability for visitors in their location and activities while in the facility.
- Passive Surveillance: This is best said with the phrase “See something, Say something.” Staff is trained to communicate concerns as they occur to ensure a response.
- Visitor Management System: This is a system that scans visitors against a database of individuals that should not be on school property.
- Barracudas (Over 1,000): This is an intruder defense device placed on over 1,000 doors in every building in the District. The device is a redundancy for barricading a door. The device prevents the door from opening even if it is unlocked or the lock is disabled.
- Shatter Resistant Material: As an added layer of protection, where needed, a shatter resistant material is placed to enhance the safety of occupants during an intruder event.
- Classroom Emergency Kits: Various classrooms around the district contain emergency kits that can be used during an emergency situation to render aid.
- Safety Devices: There is an additional device in every classroom that can be utilized to prevent an attack during an intruder event.
RESPONSE
An important component of our emergency plan is a set of interagency agreements with various county agencies to aid timely communication and help coordinate services between first responders and the District.
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Developed Command Posts: Command posts refer to Incident Command and specifically to the various locations of assets during an emergency event
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Threat Assessment Matrix: Staff has been trained to conduct threat assessments on individuals in an effort to determine a propensity to do harm to themselves or others. The matrix ensures a consistent and appropriate response.
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Terrorism Threat Matrix: Staff has been trained to conduct assessments of threats made to the District in an effort to determine the level of threat. The matrix ensures a consistent and appropriate response.
COMMUNICATION
Ensuring that students, staff, families, and patrons have accurate and timely information during an emergency is an important part of crisis prevention and response. The District issues emergency information via local media, social media, the District's website, and the Blackboard Mobile Communication System (phone, email, and mobile app).
- Phone
- Recorded telephone calls go to the all students’ primary contact number as well as staff members through the Blackboard Mass Notification service.
- Families are encouraged to make sure their phone numbers are accurate and to notify their student’s school if contact information has changed.
- Email
- Emails are sent to the email address given at the time of enrollment.
- Subscribe to the District's electronic newsletter, Patron Update - To subscribe, please visit https://www.raytownschools.org/Page/1434.
- Mobile App
- In the Apple App Store or in Google Play Store, search “Raytown School District” to download the app.
- Social Media
- Facebook: Like the “Raytown C-2 School District” Page.
- Twitter: Follow @RaytownSchools.