Safety & Security

Safety is the number one priority for Community Consolidated District 62 Schools. The district and each school has a comprehensive crisis management plan in place not only to prevent a crisis, but also to prepare, respond, and recover from one should it occur. Please note: To avoid the exploitation of our safety plans by those who would cause harm or damage, we do not make these documents available to the public.

Safety Drills

The district completes a number of safety drills annually. Such drills include the following: building evacuation drills, bus evacuation drills, law enforcement drills, and severe weather drills. Please contact your building principal with any questions regarding these drills.

Beginning January 1, 2019, the law enforcement drill must address an active shooter and must be done when students are present. School personnel and students will participate in the drill with law enforcement observing.

In accordance with Public Act 102-0395, schools will provide sufficient information and notification to parents and guardians in advance of any walk-through lockdown drill that involves the participation of students. Schools must also provide parents and guardians an opportunity to exempt their child for any reasons from participating in the walk-through lockdown drill. These types of drills will be announced in advance and any parent/guardian may elect to exclude their child from participating in this drill by contacting the building principal.

In addition, the district has a safety committee that meets three to four times a year that is comprised of staff, administrators, the school resource officer and parents for the purpose of discussing safety protocols and updates.

As of January 1, 2019, school administrators are required to post notice of the human trafficking hotline in the administrative office, or another location, in view of school employees.

About School Lockdowns

A school lockdown is most often a precautionary measure initiated to keep students safe while law enforcement officials and staff conduct an investigation of a reported threat. A lockdown is not necessarily an indication that students are in harm’s way.

The top priority for school staff during a lockdown, or any emergency situation, is to keep students safe and implement our safety protocols. While we understand that waiting for specific information is difficult, to avoid interfering with investigations, the district does not immediately release specific information about the reasons for a lockdown.

The district is committed to providing accurate information. Often, it takes time to gather and confirm facts with law enforcement officials and school personnel during an active investigation. We will always do our best to communicate accurate information as soon as we can.

We recognize that during a lockdown, misinformation often spreads quickly through social media or in media reports. Please double-check the source of any claim and be skeptical of reports coming from non-district sources.

To help school staff and law enforcement do their work, please do not call or go to the school during a lockdown unless asked to do so.

Please, do not text or call your student’s cell phone during a lockdown. Cell phone use could distract a student from hearing or following staff directions, and, in the event of an active threat, could give away your student’s location.

We understand that these incidents are stressful. Thank you for your patience and your help as we follow our protocols and work to keep all students and staff safe.

Family Reunification Procedures

Circumstances may occur at the school that require parents to pick up their students in a formalized, controlled release. The process of controlled release is called a reunification and may be necessary due to weather, a power outage, hazmat, or if a crisis occurs at the school. The Standard Reunification Process is a protocol that makes this process more predictable and less chaotic for all involved.

As a parent, you can assist us by not coming to the school to pick your child up. Traffic caused by parents trying to come to the school may impede our process of getting your child to safety. Also, make sure your emergency contact information is up to date at each school and be sure to bring government issued ID with you as we will not release a student to a person not listed on the emergency contact form.

Physical/Environmental Safety and Security

The district continually works with law enforcement and building staff in reviewing perimeter security. Schools maintain minimal access points without eliminating the ability to effectively evacuate the campus if necessary.

We continue to collaborate with our local law enforcement partners on a regular basis to ensure the safety of our schools and school community.

District Safety Advisory Committee

Bullying, Harassment, and Intimidation

Police Training

School Resource Officer

District 62, in partnership with the Des Plaines Police Department, has offered a School Resource Officer Program that has been in place for almost a decade in our District 62 schools. In an effort to provide students and families with more information about this important role, we will outline some of those responsibilities of the School Resource Officer below.

The School Resource Officer supports and facilitates the educational process within District 62 by providing a safe and secure environment through building and establishing meaningful relationships with students and staff. In addition, the School Resource Officer proactively interacts with the school community to ensure the enforcement of city and state laws, preservation of public order, and the prevention, detection, or investigation of any possible criminal activity.

This individual works with students, parents, school personnel and community agencies to support teaching and learning in the schools. The School Resource Officer will also patrol district property to protect students, staff and visitors from physical harm or threats, should assistance be required.

Some of the specific activities the School Resource Officer may be involved in include:

Educating students about important topics such as alcohol/drug awareness, gang and stranger awareness/ resistance, and general crime prevention.
Mentoring students
Informal counseling
Supporting and ensuring a safe school environment
Facilitating conflict resolution between students
Providing safety information to students and staff
Serving as a liaison to community resources
Engaging in restorative justice practices
Partnering with school administration when investigating some of the most common criminal activity by students (e.g., truancy, vandalism, theft, etc.)
Investigating any potential serious criminal activity by students to ensure school safety (e.g., violent physical threats, possession of weapons, drugs etc.)

Safety Concern?

Send an anonymous tip to tell district safety staff about threats, bullying, drugs, weapons, concerns about student well-being, and any other safety problem.

To ensure we have up to date emergency information for your student(s), please log into Campus Parent and verify your family's contact information.

Should any updates be needed, please contact your school directly.

School resource officer

In August, the district hired a new School Resource Officer Matthew Stonequist to begin collaborating on district safety, security protocols and procedures.

Threat Assessment Procedure

School Boards annually shall file a threat assessment procedure and a list identifying the members of the school district’s threat assessment team or regional behavior threat assessment and intervention team with a local law enforcement agency and the regional office of education.

Additionally, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exempts from disclosure any threat assessment procedure under the School Safety Drill Act and any information contained in the procedure from inspection and copying.

Systems in Place to Keep Students and Staff Secure

The district is always looking for ways to improve the safety and security of our students and staff. This includes adding the Raptor Lobby Management System for district visitors as well as adding more security cameras and telephones throughout all our schools.

Questions?

Please contact: Adam Denenberg

Raptor Systems

In October of 2022, the district introduced the Raptor Visitor Management system.

Upon entering a district building, visitors will be asked to present an ID, which will be scanned and entered into our system.

If a parent, guardian, or other visitor is undocumented or for any reason does not have a US government-issued ID, another form of identification can be provided.

Once entry is approved, Raptor will issue a badge that includes a photo, the name of the visitor, time, date, and purpose or destination of the visit.

Security cameras

At this time, most indoor (hallway, stairwell, gym, cafeteria) and outdoor security cameras have been installed at both Algonquin and Chippewa Middle School.

Since spring break video is being recorded at each school. These cameras record detected motion and do not capture any audio.

The district is expecting to complete the video camera project at Plainfield Elementary School before the end of the year and then will move onto Iroquois Community School, where project plans have already been finalized.

Over the next one to two years security cameras will be installed at the remaining district schools.

Classroom phones

Each classroom will be installed with a phone which will allow staff to contact first responders. New clocks and public address (PA) systems will be installed in our schools.

Our middle schools have been our first priority as part of this focus, with Algonquin beginning installation in November.

This process will take approximately two years for completion.