Safety & Security in RPS

Dear RPS Community,

Following yesterday’s terrible school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, we want to take a minute to remind you that the safety of students, staff and visitors is one of our top priorities.

We have protocols in place for emergency situations that provide an organized and coordinated response. Staff members across the district are familiar with these procedures. Additionally, students and staff participate regularly in a variety of emergency drills, which provide us all with an understanding of responses to various situations. These drills include both evacuation and lockdown/shelter-in-place drills.

Our Crisis Management Policy outlines the key components of our Crisis Management Procedures and our Postvention Emergency Manual, which is a guide for follow-up actions after an emergency occurs. All three of these documents are currently being reviewed by Kaufman and Associates, a public relations and emergency management consulting firm,  with recommendations being presented to the school board this summer. 

We also have many everyday safety and security protocol measures in place, including but not limited to, the following:

• Building doors are locked during the school day. Visitors must enter at a central location at each building before being granted access to the hallways. All entrances have been reconfigured to enhance safety as part of the capital facilities improvement project.
• We require staff to wear an identification badge at all times. Upon visitors entering the building, they must show identification and receive a visitor badge that must be worn while on school grounds.
• Staff monitor visitors when they are in our buildings and are instructed that, in the event they observe suspicious activity, they are to question the individual or notify building administrators.
• Security cameras are installed in all RPS schools with Avigilon software to monitor hallways and common areas in buildings. 

While we no longer have School Resource Officers in our schools, we maintain a positive relationship with the Richfield Police Department and work with them whenever situations arise that require police intervention. 

We know that our children are the most important treasure in our community. We carefully guard their safety and we will continue to work to update our safety and security practices. However, we also need your continued cooperation to alert us to any concerns that arise by reporting them immediately to a school district official or to our colleagues at the Richfield Police Department. If you see or suspect something, say something.

We are very thankful for your continued engagement with us and for your continued trust and support.

Richfield Public Schools