Our School Safety team includes 5 School Resource Officers, 1 School-Community Safety Liaison, and 12 Security Guards. A state-certified School Safety Specialist is also placed at each school.

Continuous School Monitoring

MCCSC collaborates closely with law enforcement and the Monroe County School Safety Commission in continuous school monitoring, supported by a robust camera monitoring system.

• Continuous communication and partnership with law enforcement: MCCSC is in continuous communication with local law enforcement agencies through a radio system in partnership with our MCCSC School Resource and Safety Officers.

• School-based Safety Committee: Each school has a School Safety Committee made up of 5-15 members that meet to discuss bullying, weather related emergencies, lockdown procedures, etc. Each school also has a state-certified School Safety Specialist.

• Anonymous Incident Reporting: The Stop!t app provides an anonymous incident reporting option for students and families that is monitored 24/7

• Local Partnerships: MCCSC is partnered with the Monroe County School Safety Commission, Community Corrections Advisory Board/Local Justice Reinvestment Advisory Council.

Preparation and Training

• Regularly Rehearsed School Safety Plans: At the beginning of every school year, MCCSC School Safety Teams update and review School Emergency Preparedness Plans for each building. These plans are created in collaboration with local law enforcement, are shared with MCCSC staff and the Monroe County School Safety Commission, and are practiced regularly.

• Certified Safety Training: Each school has a certified Safety Specialist trained by the Indiana School Safety Specialist Academy that provides certified training and information on national and state best practices, resources for school safety, security, intervention/prevention, and emergency preparedness planning. Safety Specialists complete a three-day basic training sessions and complete ten hours of computer-based coursework the first year. Participants in advanced training are involved in two-day long sessions each year.

• Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) Internal Safety and Security Audit: Each summer, MCCSC School Resource Officers conduct safety and security audits of each school building, which includes a thorough review of District-Wide Layer, Building Perimeter Layer, Classroom/Interior Layer.

• Regular School Safety Drills: Every school practices at least one monthly fire drill, two tornado drills per year, and different kinds of lockdown scenarios throughout each school year. 
   
• Project Adam, Heart Safe Schools: All schools have a Cardiac Team trained to respond to cardiac events.

Restricted Building Access

• Exterior and interior doors locked: All building exterior and interior doors are locked during the school day. Building exterior doors are equipped with door access devices on all entry doors.

• Employee ID badges: Protocol requires all MCCSC employees to wear their ID badges visibly and stop and ask anyone not compliant to report to the office.

• Visitor ID badges: MCCSC uses the Visitor Aware system that requires visitors to sign in to receive a visitor ID badge when checking into the building.

• Student SmartPass: Digital hall passes help our secondary schools monitor which students are in the hallway and their locations in the building.

Safety Equipment

• All school buildings have AED machines that are regularly checked.

• AED machine cabinets also house emergency first aid kits, Stop the Bleed kits, and NARCAN®.

At MCCSC, our school safety practices include protecting students’ mental and behavioral health, physical health, and overall wellness. The following practices are used across our corporation to enhance student wellbeing and contribute to positive and welcoming school environments.

MCCSC’s Student Services team focuses on reducing and eliminating barriers that interfere with a student's learning. The team includes social workers at all schools in grades K-12, school counselors in grades 7-12, full-time RNs, full-time health aides, and assistant health aides.

• As required by state and federal law, MCCSC offers training for teachers and staff on bullying prevention and reporting. In addition, the corporation provides age appropriate, research-based instruction focusing on bullying prevention for all students in grades K-12.
   
• Safe and Inclusive Schools Workgroup Retreats: MCCSC educational leaders continue to collaborate to discuss and review student data, identifying disparities in our priority groups, and discussing strategies to ensure success for all students.

• Speak Up at School Initiative: Interrupt, Question, Educate, Echo. This information from the Learning for Justice community education program is helping staff and students respond when faced with biased language and situations to create a safe and inclusive school environment.

• Zones of Regulation: This program is used in our elementary schools to increase student self-awareness and social and emotional skills.

• Restorative Practice: Restorative Practice is a standard training for staff and teachers focused on the goals to build safe, comfortable, and healthy school environments.

• Social Emotional Learning Curriculum, Second Steps, and School Connect: Our elementary and secondary schools use these curricula to help develop student problem solving skills, self-regulation skills, increase self-awareness, understand multiple perspectives, increase motivation, and increase positive behavior.

• Common Sense Media-Digital Citizenship Curriculum: Teachers use this resource to address timely topics and prepare students to take ownership of their digital lives.

• Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) Training: This training helps faculty provide effective support and care for students who have experienced trauma.

• Suicide prevention training for all teachers: All teachers complete mandatory training in suicide prevention training to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone for help.

• National Center for Safe Supportive Schools (NCS3): Two MCCSC schools are currently piloting this program that promotes positive school climate, social emotional learning, mental health and well-being, while reducing the prevalence and severity of mental illness.
   
• Vaping prevention: IU Health public health educators visit classes in 3rd and 5th grade to discuss vaping awareness and prevention.

House Enrolled Act 1492 guides all safety policies and practices in public school in Indiana. In addition to the requirements from HEA 1492, MCCSC has also created an Anti-Bullying and Harassment Policy that supports safe and inclusive school communities.

 Anti-Bullying and Harassment Policy