#SAFEDRAGON
CARROLL, CITY OF SOUTHLAKE COLLABORATE TO ENHANCE SCHOOL SAFETY, SECURITY
ADDITIONAL SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS Carroll ISD is fortunate to have a strong partnership with the City of Southlake when it comes to safety/security. Through a 1/8 of a cent crime control sales tax, the city is able to fund an armed school resource officer at every CISD campus. As a result of the additional $550,000 earmarked for school safety by the City of Southlake, the Mayor’s School Safety Task Force recommended hiring three more school resource officers for the 2019-2020 school year. Both Carroll Sr. High School and Carroll High School will receive a second resource officer to serve the nearly 1,400 students at each campus, with the third position being utilized for a supervisory role. This brings the total number of SROs and supervisors assigned to school safety in Carroll ISD to 15. It represents a significant commitment from the voters and city leaders to ensuring students and staff feel safe while at school.
REDUCED ENTRY POINTS In the spring of 2019 the Southlake Police Department conducted building threat assessments at Carroll Senior High and Carroll High schools. The audits or assessments were done to determine how secure the environment is at those campuses before, during and after the school day. Police Chief James Brandon said both campuses fared quite well under the threat assessment/audit, but one of the key takeaways was the need to reduce the number of entrances/exits being used by students through the school day at both campuses. By doing so, school officials and first responders hope to have better controls of the comings/goings at secondary campuses. CISD has significantly increased its video surveillance capabilities since the May 2017 bond program started and will continue to fortify campuses with hard measures that will slow down any intruder or active shooter. Students have ID badges but will now only be able to access about half of the entrances/exits they used to at CSHS and CHS. This makes the campus more manageable for administrators and SROs.
THREAT ASSESSMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (TAMS) Even before Governor Abbott mandated a threat assessment program for all public school districts, Carroll ISD had researched, identified and implemented a new Threat Assessment Management System or TAMS at every CISD campus. Developed by neighboring Keller ISD, TAMS helps identify students at risk to themselves or others and provides resources and support on an ongoing basis. A team of three caring adults - consisting of a counselor, assistant principal and school resource officer - will be assigned
to each student identified for support in TAMS. The group will be responsible for completing the online assessment, making regular check-ups and filing reports on student transitions. The TAMS team will work with parents to provide resources and support, as well. Officials hope TAMS identifies and prevents students at risk for violence so that intervention strategies can be deployed and future violence prevented. Funding for training and TAMS was provided from the money earmarked by the City of Southlake under the guidance of the Mayor’s School Safety Task Force.
SOCIAL SENTINEL In the spring of 2019 Carroll ISD staff and members of the Southlake Police Department were trained to use a social media monitoring software made possible through funding from the City of Southlake. This alert system tracks public social media posts within a geofenced area (like district facilities, school boundaries and city limits) so that first responders and school administrators can consider threats to others or facilities. The software is managed by a company on the east coast, but immediately alerts school officials and resource officers of alarming social media posts or pictures. Experience shows that students who are a threat to themselves or to others often make public posts about their hurts or anger. Social Sentinel provides alerts so that school officials and resource officers can work with parents to support students at-risk of harmful behaviors.
BULLET-RESISTANT GLAZING The remaining funds given to CISD as part of the Mayor’s School Safety Task Force were earmarked to fortify Carroll Sr. High by adding bullet-resistant glazing in key areas. School officials researched materials and have committed funds from the 2017 bond program to add the bullet-resistant material at other CISD campuses. This work is being done as construction continues at all 15 facilities in the district. The exact placement of this glazing is kept confidential so as not to compromise the integrity of the facility or the students and staff inside.
MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAINING Even before Governor Abbott mental health first aid training, Carroll ISD had all of its administrators complete the training with Region XI Education Service Center. In addition, CISD now has two certified trainers who have been offering the course to classroom teachers and support staff. The training provides significant educational resources for identifying signs and symptoms of students in crisis. Information was provided to CISD parents during the fall Parent University event, with links to resources also outlined on the district’s website.
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