In continuing our updates about safety, Rivercrest School District’s priority remains that our students will have a safe environment for learning every day, all day. We want you to be confident that our entire faculty and staff accepts that responsibility and will ensure protocols are followed to keep all of the Rivercrest School District on the continued path of a safe, secure, and happy school environment for our students.
Standard Safety Response
Rivercrest School District remains a family oriented learning environment that embraces each child and teacher as their own. Thus, teachers, administrators, and staff train and stay up to date with national best practices with regards to school safety and security. Our teachers remain vigilant about safety and security on all campuses and continuously talk to our students regarding any safety concerns and follow up with parents and guardians to discuss further when necessary.
While threats are very rare please know that all threats and other issues are addressed and investigated by District administrators and SROs on an individual basis. Our administrators and SROs on all campuses are well trained in school safety protocols and are experienced in investigating concerns of safety and threats of harm to our students. Each incident is investigated thoroughly on an individual basis and takes many factors into account during that process.
Standard Response Protocol
Rivercrest School District has adopted the I Love You Guys Foundation Safe Schools Standard Response Protocol to ensure clear communication and response between District personnel and emergency responders should the need arise. Below are descriptions of the responses to emergencies that may occur on campus.
HOLD: will be used when we need to keep our students out of the hallway to attend to non-threatening issues such as medical emergencies, a student disruption in a class, or movement of materials through the hallways. During a HOLD it’s business as usual in the classrooms. A HOLD is not a lockdown.
SECURE-LOCKOUT: all campuses remain in SECURE at all times (Arkansas ACT 787 requires all school exterior doors to remain locked at all times). A SECURE-LOCKOUT is called when a threat is identified outside of the building. Students will be brought inside and the doors will be double checked by faculty to ensure they are secured and locked shut. No students will be allowed to leave the building until the SECURE-LOCKOUT is lifted and no one outside of the building, such as parents/guardians, will be allowed to enter the building. An example would be a dangerous animal on the playground or an incident being addressed nearby.
LOCKDOWN: is called when there is a threat inside of a building. Students and staff are trained in what to do and where to go inside the classroom or open areas when a LOCKDOWN is called. The District’s RAVE Panic System will be initiated to inform surrounding law enforcement agencies and parents will be notified through multiple communication avenues (social media, mass email, mass phone calls, etc). During a LOCKDOWN students will not be able to leave the building until the threat has been resolved in its entirety.
EVACUATE and SHELTER: these are used for fire/fire drills, storms, and earthquake type issues.
Continued communication is especially important to ensure that your students are kept safe and the schools secure. We appreciate you for taking the time to read this information and going over the information with your children.
We have an amazing team of faculty and staff at RSD and EVERYONE is committed to providing the highest quality education for your children and ensuring that we have safe and secure school environment.