Texas School District Increases Security Training, Reporting

Since October, CISD has offered the Anonymous Alerts app for students and parents to anonymously report urgent information to campus administrators.

• By Jessica Davis
• November 19, 2018

Cleburne Independent School District is implementing safety and security measures to ensure the safety of students, teachers and staff. CISD Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Tammy Bright said the district has been hard at work.

About 86 percent of district staff have completed an online course with the ALICE Training Institute since the district implemented the program on Nov. 1, Bright said. ALICE—Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate—is a course based around proactive, options-based strategies to increase survival chances in the event of an active shooter or violent intruder. These skills and strategies can be vital during the time between a violent event starts and law enforcement arrives on the scene.

According to Bright, at least one administrator per campus must complete the ALICE training, and school resources are also required to complete the course. Bright said the course differs from the current lockdown procedures staff and faculty are usually familiar with.

Since October, CISD has offered the Anonymous Alerts app for students and parents to anonymously report urgent information to campus administrators. The app can be downloaded to a smartphone or tablet, and incident reports can also be filed from a computer. When filing a report, users can include a relevant screenshot, photo or video.

Submission topics can include bullying, cyberbullying, safety threats, drug or alcohol abuse, student depression, sexual harassment, suspicious behavior, gang-related issues or other sensitive topics. All reports are anonymous, thanks to one-way or two-way encrypted messages. However, users filing a report are given the option to disclose their identity if they’d prefer to discuss the issue in person with an administrator.

Students have been shown a video about the app, and signs with program information have also been posted around campuses. Anonymous Alerts should be used for “serious or urgent” matters, and 911 should be called instead in an emergency or life-threatening situation.

In terms of physical security, each CISD campus is now fitted with a secured entryway with secure vestibules, including the CISD Central Offices. Bright said she and other administrators meet monthly with school resource officers and the Cleburne Police Department to ensure current safety and security measures are being followed.

CISD Board President John Finnell said student and staff safety are the board and administration’s top priority.