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SAFETY

 

At the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation, the safety of our students and staff is our highest priority. Our comprehensive approach includes multiple layers of protection and prevention, ensuring a secure and supportive environment for everyone. Our strategy features several visible components such as School Resource Officers (SROs) in our schools, and secure buildings with controlled entrances and visitor check-ins to monitor and manage who enters the premises.

In addition to these visible measures, we utilize advanced digital tools to safeguard our students and staff. Internet filters and monitoring systems help protect students from inappropriate content and potential online threats.

We are proud of the community built at Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation. We rely on the partnership and cooperation of parents and families. If you see something, say something, so we can do something. Together, we can ensure that our schools remain safe for all.

School Resource Officers 

All of our school resource officers are full-time, law enforcement officers with sworn law enforcement authority who are trained in school-based policing and crisis response. All of our officers are certified by the National Association of School Resource Officers and utilize the triad concept school-based policing of law enforcement officer, counselor and educator. Several of our STO’s are advanced NASRO Trainers who help train future officers.

School Safety Specialists

BCSC has 21 School Safety Specialists trained through the Indiana School Safety Specialist Academy on staff. The Indiana School Safety Specialist Academy provides on-going, certified training and information on national and state best practices, as well as exemplary resources for school safety, security, intervention/prevention, and emergency preparedness planning. School safety specialists are trained to lead the development and implementation of school safety practices which will provide safe educational environments for all students in Indiana. Members participate in 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.

Emergency Drills

Drills are an important aspect of school safety, and will be used as teachable moments for our staff and students. Indiana Code requires each school to conduct monthly fire drills, one severe weather drill per semester, and one man-made occurrence drill per semester. BCSC goes beyond these minimum guidelines to conduct a minimum of two man-made occurrence drills per semester, and participate in the Great Central U.S. Earthquake Drill each year (more information on the Great Central U.S. Earthquake Drill is available online at https://www.shakeout.org/centralus/). 

Reunification

Circumstances may occur at the school that require parents to pick up their students in a formalized, controlled release.   The process of a controlled release is called a reunification and may be necessary due to weather, a power outage, fire in a small part of the building, a gas leak, or an act of violence.  The reunification process is a protocol that makes the process more predictable and less chaotic for all involved.  In the event of a reunification, our goal is to try to reunite parents with their child(ren) as soon as possible. 

  • Students would be bussed from the site of the crisis to an off-site location.  This information would be communicated to parents at the time of the incident.  
  • This conveys the critical need for schools to have the most updated and current contact information for parents and guardians so if there is an emergency, you can be contacted quickly.  If parents/guardians move, change phone numbers, or have a new email address, they need to remember to inform the school so they can be reached in an emergency.  It is also important to have an emergency contact on file so that if the primary contacts are unable to be reached, the school can contact this individual.  
  • If a reunification is put into action, it is of utmost importance that parents/guardians or emergency contacts bring a driver's license or ID with them to pick up  their child/student.