Safe Schools Division

Mr. Jay Reese, School Safety Specialist

[email protected] 

The Collierville School District strives to establish and maintain both physically and psychologically safe, orderly, and secure work and learning environments for all students and employees.  Safe Schools are defined as schools and school-related activities where students and staff feel safe from threats and hazards that have the potential to impact student learning or participation in extra-curricular events. 

Some of the areas addressed in Safe Schools include the following:  

School Safety
Emergency Operations
Bullying, Harassment, and Title IX
Speak Up For Safety

Each school day, across the nation our schoolhouses are entrusted to provide a safe and healthy environment for our students. Using lessons learned from past school emergency situations, school officials and first responders implement safety measures and Emergency Operations Plans. By having plans in place to keep students and staff safe, schools play a key role in the prevention, response, and recovery of emergency situations. Although they are not traditional first responders, school staff must respond immediately when a school-based emergency occurs by providing timely decisions and working with community partners to provide a cohesive, coordinated response. 

The safety and security of all Collierville Schools students and staff is our highest priority. In accordance with Tennessee state law and Collierville Schools policy, all school staff receive training in a variety of emergency procedures and scenarios each year. Additionally, both students and school personnel practice safety drills throughout the year to promote and encourage preparedness in the event of an emergency situation. Both the District and each school site has an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) that adheres to Tennessee and FEMA guidelines: Prevention, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery. All EOP plans are reviewed and updated on an annual basis.  

School Safety Mission Statement

The Collierville Schools District is committed to creating safe, secure, and respectful learning environments where all community members work together to promote both the physical and psychological safety of students and staff. Physical safety includes measures such as preparedness planning, visitor check-in and identification badges, video surveillance, and practice drills to prepare for a host of potential incidents. District and school emergency operation plans are aligned with the recommendations from state guidelines, the office of Homeland Security, and local emergency responders.

Psychological safety provides for the social-emotional well-being of students and works to create positive school climates through measures such as bullying prevention, mental health awareness, threat assessment, restorative practices, and early identification and intervention for at-risk students.

What is an emergency? 
An emergency is a sudden, unexpected, or potentially dangerous situation that requires immediate action.  The response to any situation depends on the possible impact it may have on the people or facilities involved. 

When parents/guardians learn of a situation at a school, their first reaction may be to rush to the site to pick up their child.  We understand that reaction, however, when numerous parents arrive at the same time, growing demands on access to the school and students can negatively impact both the ingress or response from law enforcement and supporting agencies.  

Collierville Schools will communicate as frequently as possible with parents/guardians to keep them informed during an emergency situation.  Here are some tips for caregivers when an emergency occurs on or near a Collierville Schools campus.

•     Monitor your mobile device for ParentSquare messages.
•     Check the Collierville Schools district website and social media for updated information.
•     In case of an evacuation to a second location, wait for communication from the school or district to which location your child’s campus will evacuate.

Other Emergency Tips

• Do not call the school and try to keep cellular network usage at a minimum for a clear pathway to emergency agencies
• Keep your mobile devices with you to receive messages from the school and/or district
• The process may seem chaotic; however, district and school staff have trained and practiced for such eventualities
• The complete process in an emergency situation may take time and requires all stakeholder support for safety reasons of all students and staff. 
• Remember that during certain emergency situations, such as a Lockdown, all school business will cease until the threat has been cleared.

Bullying and Harassment
The Collierville Board of Education has determined that a safe, civil, and supportive environment in school is necessary for students to learn and achieve high academic standards. In order to maintain that environment, acts of bullying, cyber-bullying, discrimination, harassment, hazing or any other victimization of students, based on any actual or perceived traits or characteristics, are prohibited.

Title VI
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance.

Title IX
Title IX protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance. Title IX prohibits several types of sex-based harassment such as verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature. 

Please refer to Collierville Schools Policy for Student Discrimination, Harassment,
Bullying, Cyber-bullying and Intimidation (6.304) http://images.pcmac.org/Uploads/TennesseeSBA/TennesseeSBA/Departments/DocumentsCategories/Documents/6304_21.pdf


Other resources for bullying:
https://www.tn.gov/education/legal-services/civil-rights.html
https://www.tn.gov/education/legal-services/civil-rights/civil-rights-bullying-compliance-report.html
https://www.stopbullying.gov
https://www.pacer.org
https://cyberinsureone.com/online-safety/

 

In the event that a school is forced to move to their offsite location, Collierville Schools will conduct a reunification of students with their parent/guardian.

 

This form will be needed to complete the reunification process. While forms will be available on site, parents/guardians are welcome to print off and fill out the form prior to arrival at the reunification site to expedite the process. 

 

We want to thank you for your patience in the event a reunification must occur. We share the same goal during this process; getting you and your student back together as quickly as possible.