Hampton City Schools’ Safety and Security Measures

 

In light of the horrific school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday, we know you will join us in remembering the precious lives of the students and school staff and keeping their families and the entire school community in your thoughts or prayers. 

 

As we work through our thoughts and emotions surrounding this tragedy, please know that a safe learning environment is the number one priority of our school division, and Hampton City Schools has systems in place to address safety in each of our schools. 

 

Below is a list of the specific safety measures utilized by HCS. Please note that detailed information regarding these safety measures (e.g., number, location, frequency of use) are not provided in order to protect the safety and security of our students and staff.

• Raptor Visitor Management Technologies to check in guests

• HCS Emergency Response Plans

• Each school has an HCS Emergency Response/Safety Team

• School Threat Assessment Teams

• Evacuation and lockdown drills

• Aiphone Access Control System (buzzer system at all front doors - audio and visual)

• Camera system (internal and external)

• Radio system at all of our schools

• Panic button system

• Walk-through weapons detection systems used daily at our high schools and have purchased all of the equipment for all additional secondary schools (middle, PreK-8, and our Kilgore Gifted Center) to implement use by no later than the start of next school year

• Hand-held metal detectors at all of our schools (i.e., elementary, middle, high) -  used for random searches

• Police canine dedicated to HCS through the SRO program - to conduct random narcotic sweeps

• Weapon detection canines through American K-9 Interdiction, LLC - to conduct routine, random firearm searches at all secondary schools

• School Security Officers (SSOs) - HCS employees - who receive annual school safety training to include ALICE training and de-escalation techniques

• School Resource Officers (SROs) - Hampton Police Division (HPD) - SROs are assigned on a full-time basis to all of our middle and high schools during the school year as well as support neighboring HCS elementary schools

• School safety audits and school inspections

• ALICE training provided to all staff at our schools (approximately 2,000 employees) during the 2019-2020 school year. Since the beginning of this current school year, training has been provided to new hires as well as continued annual training for schools throughout the division.

• Safe School Hotline and Tip Text Line 757-504-0921

• Divisionwide CISM team - critical incident stress management team - providing continued training throughout the year to certify additional staff members who assist schools when needed

An additional new layer to our safety measures (that is listed above) is our partnership with American K-9 Interdiction, LLC. Previously, HCS worked with HPD when needed to utilize weapon detection canines in our schools. Beginning in March, the division partnered with American K-9 Interdiction, LLC to implement a stronger proactive approach. Through this contract, the division is able to schedule routine visits to schools to utilize the weapon detection canines. We feel this proactive approach will further deter firearms in our buildings. By no means are we suggesting that this safety measure would have prevented the unspeakable act that occurred yesterday in Texas. However, we want our families to know of this new resource that we are utilizing in our buildings. If you would like to learn more about this, please click here to view a short video we have been working on for the past few weeks that explains this new partnership. 

 

We know that children and teens will process this horrific news in different ways. Counselors are available at each of our school buildings to assist students who may need extra support. We strongly encourage students to stop by the counseling office at any time. Additionally, each school has an assigned school psychologist and social worker who are available to assist as needed. As a reminder, HCS has partnered this year with Care Solace to provide an additional layer of care for our community. Care Solace helps individuals (staff, staff members’ families, students, and students’ family members) find mental health care providers and substance use treatment centers. Care Solace is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, and 365 days per year. Simply call (888) 515-0595 at any time to connect with the Care Solace Care Companion team.

 

Your partnership remains essential to creating and maintaining safe learning environments. We are thankful for each of you.