ARLINGTON (WBAP/KLIF News ) – Arlington ISD set up a new real-time security tracker on its website that will keep students, staff and the public in the loop before, during and after an emergency.
District Superintendent Doctor Marcelo Cavazos said the system is vital to helping prevent the spreading of misinformation amid a tense situation at one of the district’s 77 campuses.
“This allows us to provide accurate, timely information about what’s going on in the schools during an emergency. It also provides parents with actions they should and shouldn’t be taking during an emergency as well,” he said. “On top of that, the district has provided definitions for their most commonly used emergency terms and a new notification chart showing parents which communications channels the district will use to alert them of an emergency.”
As with any lockdown, the aftermath is often chaotic and many parents first instinct is to either call the school or rush to the campus to pick up their children.
“For example, when there’s a lockdown we don’t want people to call the school because no one is going to answer the phone and that could lead to frustration. We certainly don’t want people coming to the campus if there’s a lock down situation,” said Dr. Cavazos.
School security is top of mind for school districts across Texas in the aftermath of the massacre at Robb Elementary in Uvalde that claimed the lives of 19 children and two teachers on May 24th.
Dr. Cavazos said while the tragedy has put a renewed focus on security, it’s not a new conversation for Arlington ISD.
“This is security that we work on year after year. We practice our drills, we lock our doors, we have camera buzzer systems, we’ve had two robust bond programs in recent years that have allowed us to upgrade our schools and our cameras and technology,” he said.
Click here to check out the AISD security tracker.
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