School security is always on our minds. I want to share with you what we have done and continue to do regarding school safety.
Building Security
· We have restricted controlled access points in each school and the district office.
· All outside doors are always locked. No propping/wedging of outside doors is permitted.
· Classroom doors are locked when in use.
· The outside doors have Sonitrol access controls that allow employees to use their ID badge to enter the school.
· Main access points in each school are controlled using a Sonitrol camera & intercom system. Administrative Assistants require visitors to identify themselves and explain what business they have at the school, and then they are allowed to enter the school and report directly to the office.
· Once in the school or district office, they show their driver’s license or state ID, which is run through a Raptor background system. The system has a national database that verifies the identification and will alert the assistant if the person visiting has a criminal record, custody issues, etc.
· If there are no alerts, their driver’s license or state ID is returned to them, their car keys are handed to the assistant and retained in the office, and an ID badge is printed for them with their picture on it to verify that they are permitted to be in the school and placed on a lanyard that must be worn at all times. Upon leaving, they must turn the ID badge lanyard at the office to retrieve their car keys and exit the school.
· All employees are required to wear their district-issued ID and lanyard inside and outside of the building during working hours.
· Special 3M film has been installed on entrance doors and office door glass, which is designed to stop someone from shooting out the window to gain entrance.
· We have multiple cameras inside and outside of the building monitored by administrative assistants and administrators on large monitors. The system is accessible at the Oakbrook Terrace, Elmhurst, and Villa Park Police departments.
· Each administrative assistant has a panic button that can immediately summon the police department to the building.
· Regular drills are held in each school with police departments to practice procedures to be used should there be an incident.
· Fire alarms have direct connections with DUCOM to alert fire departments and first responders.
· Administrators get regular Illinois State Police School Safety Daily Briefings and other Briefings as necessary from the Statewide Terrorism & Intelligence Center for situational awareness, School Safety, Weather, and Dates of Significance.
· District employees and FGM Architects were engaged for 18 months to develop a new Ten-Year Master Facility Plan that was presented to the Board of Education in October 2022. The Board of Education continues to review the plan.