Safety & Security

At Centerville City Schools, the safety of our students and staff members is a priority.

Here are some examples of precautions we have in place:

• Emergency drills: Students and staff practice fire, tornado and safety drills regularly throughout the school year. School safety drills allow us to run through strategies that can be used in emergency situations.
• School resource officers: Five school resource officers are assigned to our schools, through a partnership with the Centerville Police Department and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department. In addition to their regular law enforcement training, SROs attend an accredited SRO basic training course and continue specialized training throughout their tenure as an SRO.
• Doors and windows: School doors are locked, and call boxes are used at front entrances for visitors to identify themselves and to notify the office of the reason for their visit. We are also in the process of adding access control features on exterior doors at each of our buildings, which were recommended during security assessments conducted by the FBI and our school resource officers.
• Security film: This has been added to strategic locations throughout the district to help deter unwanted individuals from entering school buildings and assist in protecting schools from break-ins or vandalism.
• Radio communication: The Multi-Agency Radio Communication System (MARCS) and a district-wide emergency radio channel are available in all of our school buildings. These methods allow quick communication between all district administrators and area law enforcement.
• Security cameras: More than 500 cameras have been upgraded and installed inside and outside the district’s schools.
• Mental health resources: School counselors are available in every school building, and a partnership with South Community therapists also helps with mental health resources. Our K-5 buildings have adopted the PurposeFull People character education and social-emotional learning curriculum, and programs like advisory at our middle and high school and the CHS Hope Squad are also important resources for our students.
• Safety helpline: Please speak up if you see a social media post or hear about students who have weapons at school or are threatening violence to themselves or others. Students can confide in a trusted adult or share information through our 24-hour Student Safety Reporting anonymous tip line by calling a toll free number, 1-866-547-8362, or through the Safety Helpline website. Any information shared will be thoroughly investigated and may prevent students from hurting themselves and/or others.

School safety is everyone’s business, and we are grateful for your partnership in helping to make our schools safe learning environments for all of our students and staff members.