School Safety Overview for Parent/Guardians and Community:

Every step is taken every day to make sure your children and our staff are safe at school.

• School safety drills include evacuation, lockdown, secure, and shelter drills. The Elbert County Sheriff's Office, Elizabeth Police Department, and Elizabeth Fire Department are actively involved in our safety drills.
• Scheduled supervision at entrances before/after school and elementary crosswalks.
• No Show Process- when students do not show up to school and we have not received a phone call explaining the absence, schools will call the parents to confirm the location of the student.
• Raptor Visitor Management System at all schools for all visitors on campus.
• Video surveillance throughout each campus.
• Electronic access control systems at every school.
• Campus emergency notification hardware for timely emergency response.
• Public safety radios at each school and building.
• First Aid Kits and AED's in every building.
• Emergency Go-Bags at every school.
• District Reunification Operations Kit (ROK) in compliance with the Standard Reunification Method.
• 95% of all ESD staff have been trained in Stop the Bleed. 
• District Nurses or Health Aides are on duty at each school.
• Weather Alert Systems are installed in all schools and all principals are signed up for Code Red Alert.
• District-wide training for all employees on SRP and ICS 100 (Incident Command System) based on the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) standards.
• Incident Command System in place at each school.
• Safe2tell System- An easy way for students to anonymously report information about anything that is a concern to school or community safety. 1-877-542-7233(SAFE)

Talking to our students about school safety and schools as a safe environment is an ongoing practice.

Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS)

The Elizabeth School District follows the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools' tiered recommendations for layered security. PASS is the most comprehensive information available on best practices for securing schools and educational facilities. PASS is recognized by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and is identified by schoolsafety.gov as a best practice resource for K-12 schools.

School Resource Officers (SROs)

Elizabeth School District partners with the Elizabeth Police Department to provide School Resource Officers (SROs). The SROs are full-time sworn police officers who are employed by the Elizabeth Police Department. SROs are carefully selected and specially trained based on the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) triad concept. The triad concept of school policing divides the SRO responsibilities into three key areas: teacher, informal counselor, and law enforcement officer. 

School Delays and Closures

There are three main factors we use to determine the need for a closure or delay: road conditions, visibility, and amount of snowfall expected during the morning commute and throughout the rest of the day. There are other factors such as temperature, wind, and other school closures that are also taken into account.

The district will make every effort to communicate a delay or closure no later than 6:00 a.m. Families and staff will be notified through our automated communication system.  The decision will also be posted on the district and school websites, and communicated to local media.  

TV and Radio

CHANNEL 9 KUSA-TV
CHANNEL 7 KMGH-TV
CHANNEL 4 KCNC-TV
850 AM KOA - Radio

Elbert County Safe School Committee

The Elbert County Safe School Committee consists of over 20 members representing the School Districts throughout Elbert County, Elizabeth Fire department, Elizabeth Police Department, Elbert County Sheriff’s Office, and the County Office of Emergency Management. This Safe Schools Committee meets monthly to coordinate safety and safety improvements at our schools.  We value this strong relationship and partnership.

Incident Command System (ICS)

ICS is a system of school personnel and procedures integrated into a common organizational structure to command, control, and coordinate a response to any incident. Every school has an Incident Command System.

Communication

• If any school implements a response from the Standard Response Protocol, parents will be notified via our communication system. Any specific instructions for parents will be included in the message.
• Updates on the incident may be available on the school and district website for parents and community members to access, depending on the situation.
• Depending on the level of incident, the media may also be notified.

Evacuation and Reunification

• Elizabeth School District utilizes the Standard Reunification Method created by the I Love U Guys Foundation.
• If it is unsafe for students and staff to remain inside the building, we will conduct an evacuation and relocate students and staff to a safe location. The location and procedural directions will be given by appropriate authorities at the time of the incident.
• In the event of a serious incident, we know parents will be very eager to reunite with their children as quickly as possible. It may be necessary for the district to establish a reunification center away from the affected school building. Through our emergency voicemail and email systems, parents will be notified of the location of the reunification center and will be provided specific instructions to unite with their child.