District 15 committee sets safety goals for school year

The safety of all children attending District 15 schools is a top priority. That is why the district is constantly reviewing its policies and procedures, searching for opportunities to improve daily efforts to provide students with caring, safe, and orderly learning environments.

In particular, the District 15 Safety Committee - which is comprised of district and school administrators, local first responders, and a parent representative - is focused on the following initiatives for the 2016-17 school year:

• Incident Command System: District 15's principals and assistant principals have completed training in FEMA's Incident Command System. This training will allow them to better coordinate emergency planning, response, and recovery efforts in collaboration with local first responders who are well versed in the system.

• Central Information Sites: Should a crisis arise at one of District 15's Palatine schools, parents will now be asked to gather at the Palatine Public Library to receive live, in-person updates from law enforcement officials and District 15 administrators. The District is currently working with the Rolling Meadows and Hoffman Estates Police Departments to identify venues that could serve this purpose for the district's schools located in their communities.

• Electronic Visitor Management Solutions: The district will be equipping its schools with technology that will allow them to scan the government-issued ID visitors must provide to enter the school, search local, state, and federal databases for red flags that might indicate whether an individual should not be allowed to enter, and print visitor passes for those who clear these background checks.

• Student Transportation: The committee will be reviewing the district's current practices and developing systematic procedures to ensure that students get on the appropriate buses at dismissal, and depart at the appropriate stops at the end of the day.

"It is critically important for us to continuously work to improve the safety and security of our schools," said Matthew Barbini, deputy superintendent of schools. "These initiatives are just a few of the many ways we are working to do so. In District 15, student safety is our top priority."

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