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District outlines safety upgrades: cameras, vape detectors, drills, reunification plan and COPS grant application
Summary
District staff described layered safety measures, including additional cameras, vape detectors, active-shooter training with police, a reunification MOU and a pending COPS grant application to fund further enhancements.
Elmwood Park CUSD 401 administrators told the school board on May 20 they are adding multiple safety layers across district buildings, from additional cameras and vape detectors to expanded drills and a formal reunification plan.
A facilities/safety presenter described the installation of vape detectors at the middle and high schools and said the district added 62 cameras districtwide. Staff said weekly campus-monitor meetings review building concerns and that the district finalized a reunification memorandum of understanding (MOU) with neighboring districts and first responders to establish an off-site reunification location.
The district reported adding soft lockdown drills, evacuation walks to predetermined sites (staff only in a prior year; this year drills included students), canine sweeps at the middle and high school, and an active-shooter staff-only drill conducted with two police departments using simulation rounds and hard lockdown procedures.
Staff said all classrooms have a red safety bag stocked with emergency supplies, and building staff receive training from the Elmwood Park Fire Department on contents and usage. The presenter said a homeland-security assessment tool is used yearly and that facility security scores have improved since the presenter began working with the district.
Administrators said they applied for a federal COPS grant again this year to fund additional safety enhancements and described a mapping/digitization grant that will place building maps in the 911 centers’ mobile data terminals for first responders. The district also plans to partner with River Grove to install flashing pedestrian-crosswalk signs near a school entrance.
Board members asked for more regular, routine updates to the board about safety activities; administrators agreed to include safety reporting in future committee updates.
