Disaster readiness on the rise in U-46

A uniform safety and security plan has come a long way in a year's time and even more in two, Elgin Area School District U-46's safety coordinator says.

John Heiderscheidt, a former Buffalo Grove police officer, implemented a centralized plan shortly after he was hired in 2006.

Consisting of nine components, each of U-46's 53 schools now would respond - and receive help - during a crisis in a nearly identical fashion.

During the 2007-08 school year, 93 percent of U-46 staff members received lockdown and crisis management training, up 23 percent from 2006-07.

Before Heiderscheidt arrived, just 4 percent of the district's staff had received such training.

Horizon Elementary Principal Deb Gehrig said the lockdown training paid off during the fall of 2007 when a student noticed an individual with a gun near the school in Hanover Park. "Everyone went back into the school very calmly (and we went on lockdown)," Gehrig said. "There was no crying."

Reciprocal reporting agreements between U-46 and the 11 communities it encompasses have now been established everywhere except Schaumburg and unincorporated Cook and DuPage counties, Heiderscheidt said.

During a crisis, communication equipment including a rapid response system, two-way ratios and emergency red phones can be utilized. This equipment was tested during two incidents last year - an April firecracker prank at South Elgin High School and the January attack on an Elgin High School teacher.

A weapons prevention program, introduced last April, randomly checks high school students for weapons with a hand-held metal detector in six classrooms twice per month, Heiderscheidt said.

Along with cell phones, drugs, cigarettes, three pocket knives, one box cutter, one pumpkin cutter, one pair of kitchen shears and one razor have been found on students in the past eight months.

A school safety advisory task force with members of local police and fire departments, school administrators and community agencies was also established. One of the task force's more notable accomplishments, Heiderscheidt said, was the receipt of a $473,000 grant given to Streamwood police to secure U-46 schools in the area. Grant money will purchase radios, a camera system and an interior door lock upgrade.

As far as next steps, Heiderscheidt said his department hopes to determine the most common occurrences reported by school liaison officers and develop best practices for their prevention. He also plans to establish a plan that would establish a protocol for various departments to maintain operations during fires, floods and earthquakes.

"This is a topic of concern for everyone," board member Joyce Fountain noted.