Dear Austin ISD Families, 

Our thoughts are with those affected by last week’s incident in Florida. Please know that the safety and security of our students and staff remain our highest priority in AISD.

Members of the AISD Police Department and Emergency Management team have met with principals from all of our campuses to reinforce safety and security procedures at district campuses and facilities. Campus principals will continue to reinforce those safety and security procedures with their teachers, staff and students.

In AISD, we conduct four types of critical incident drills which include:

• Evacuation: Conducted for fire, bomb threat, or gas leak.
• Reverse Evacuation: Conducted for violence in the vicinity of the campus.
• Shelter-in-Place: Conducted only for inclement weather or hazardous materials release.
• Lockdown: Conducted for intruder or violence on campus.

Family and community members can help us keep our campuses safe as well. When visiting campuses and district facilities, please be ready to provide proper identification and sign in at the front office. Please make sure that your contact information is current and that the individuals listed who can pick your child up are current. Other best practices include:

Things you should DO:

• DO wear your Raptor Visitor ID when on campus.
• DO report any suspicious activity you see on campus.
• DO report anyone you see walking around campus without an AISD badge or visitor badge to the front office.
• DO keep cell phones charged.
• DO follow the campus emergency procedures.
• DO dial 911 for emergencies.
• DO talk to your children about personal safety and security.

Things NOT to do:

• DO NOT allow other visitors to piggyback in to the campus buildings.
• DO NOT encourage or ask students to open doors.
• DO NOT prop doors open behind you.

We are prepared to respond as quickly as we can to any incident that might occur, and we will continue to use the most current and effective best practices. As a reminder, “if you see something, say something.” We encourage our students, families and staff to report any possible security issues to campus administration or AISD Police.

Working together, we can all make sure that our campuses and district facilities are the safest they can be.

Sincerely,

Paul Cruz, Ph.D.
Superintendent

Chris Evoy
Interim Chief of Police 

For more information about our safety and security drills, please click here to download a PDF.