Frisco ISD School Safety

When I first ran for the Frisco ISD School Board back in 2002, I stated that student safety was one of my top priorities. That should not be surprising coming from a parent with three children in the district. Every Frisco ISD Board member has children in the district so it should come as no surpise that safety is one of the top priorities of the entire school board.

So what exactly have we been doing?

Well, I can't tell you everything or it might compromise the effectiveness of some of the programs. But I will try to give you a glimpse into some of the activities.

To start with, one of the most significant tactics is our small school philosophy. We want our staff to be able to foster relationships and become involved with our students. If students build relationships with other students and adults in the building, they are more likely to confide in someone if harmful activities are being discussed or taking place. I will tell you for a fact that this has taken place. Of course that usually means that the public hears about some incident which is always viewed negatively. But I believe that it is better to take action than to ignore or not know of the situations.

We have invested in the buildings to make them as safe as possible, including lots of cameras and double door entries on campuses. A typical elementary school will have 19-26 cameras, a middle school 45-65, and a high school 98-132 depending on the floor plans. The police and fire departments have access to our camera system as well as the central station.

We have hired a full-time security director who is very experienced and is involved with all the schools.

For the little ones, perhaps one of the most innovative safety educational programs is our partnership with the Friso Fire Department on Safety Town. This is designed to be a hands-on program to teach our young children how to prevent accidents, react to severe weather situations, increase safe behavior in their community, and prepare for disaster, along with lessons on bike and pedestrian safety and stranger danger.

Specific FISD Safety Programs:

• Crisis management plans and teams at each campus coordinated by a cental director
• School Resource Officers (SROs) visible and building relationships at each secondary campus
• SROs deliver the DARE program at 6th grade
• Frisco Police Department and the Fire Department produce the Shattered Dreams program
• At the high schools, parking attendants help monitor for suspicious activity or persons
• Police officers available at athletic and after-hours events
• Crossing Guards
• Access control systems at each campus to screen persons for access to buildings
• Radio communication for administrators and staff
• Criminal history searches on all employees, volunteers and contractors who work on district property.
• K-9 services at unannounced times on secondary campuses
• Digital surveillance inside and outside schools
• Choose-to-Care anonymous information tip-line
• Safe-school surveys to monitor safety needs
• District employs a full-time Security Director
• Hope Rising, provides trauma and grief counseling to students, staff and families in need
• FISD was a leader in random drug testing for athletes, which now includes random testing for steroids

Click here for more information on Safety and Security at Frisco ISD