Dear Eagle Families,
At Decatur ISD, we take student safety seriously. Recently, we were made aware of reports of a potential incident in Decatur, Georgia. To be clear, this incident does not impact Decatur ISD schools here in Texas, and DISD has received no credible threats to student or staff safety.
This latest news affecting Decatur, Georgia, schools follows a larger trend. Since the beginning of the school year, local school districts have seen an increase in the number of perceived threats being posted to social media. Again, Decatur ISD has received no credible threats to student or staff safety.
While none of these posts nationally have represented a true, credible threat to student or staff safety within the district, news reports and social media posts have created an environment where everyone is on alert about school safety.
With that in mind, here are a few of the ways that we have/are keeping students and staff safe:
Regular Safety Drills & Relationship with Decatur Police. Decatur ISD has a deep relationship with local first responders, including the Decatur Police Department
, and we are grateful for the many ways they have supported school safety.
Most recently, the Decatur police held a district-wide safety drill that allowed our staff to get hands-on practice implementing the district's safety protocols during mock emergency scenarios.
School Resource Officers at Each Campus. We have School Resource Officers on duty at each DISD campus at all times.
Secure Facilities. All exterior doors to school buildings are locked during the school day. Also, all campus visitors are required to enter through a secure, school entry point, at which time they must present a valid photo ID that is scanned through our visit background check system, Raptor.
Staff Identification. Staff are required to keep their staff IDs on them at all times.
Other Safety Measures. As a district, we continue to invest in ways to make our schools more secure. We continue to invest in making our schools more secure by adding bullet-resistant film to exterior doors and windows; strengthening campus vestibules; educating students and staff members on campus safety; providing robust mental health services for students, staff, and families; and more.
How You Can Help:
Don't Joke About School Safety. You can help us by ensuring your children understand that school safety is not a joking matter. Even a joke about a threat to student safety could be considered by DISD and DPD to be a terroristic threat. We fully investigate and punish to the fullest extent of our student code of conduct and Texas state law any threat that is made. In addition, please ensure your children understand that sharing social media posts with perceived threats only exacerbates the issue, and they should immediately report these types of posts to campus administrators or School Resource Officers rather than sharing the posts with their friends.
Report Concerns to the Eagle Tip Line. All students, parents, and staff members are encouraged to report anything that may make them feel unsafe using the district’s anonymous reporting system, the Eagle Tip Line
, or by calling or emailing their campus.
Call 911 for Emergencies. As always, emergencies and immediate threats should be called to 911.
We are grateful for the partnership we have with all of our district families.
Sincerely,
Dr. Karen Rue, Interim Superintendent Decatur ISD