School Safety and Security
The FHUSD mission statement that "We Achieve and Celebrate Educational Excellence" is a core belief we have as members of the educational community. Academic achievement, however, can only occur in a school setting where student and staff security is a continued focus. To that end, FHUSD takes multiple steps to prevent and respond to critical incidents and situations impacting safety.
It is well known that each school practices fire drills and lockdowns but the planning goes well beyond these basic drills. The district and school Emergency Response Plan (ERP) begins with a District Emergency Response Team (D.E.R.T.) and school specific teams. These groups involve personnel from FHUSD, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, Ft. McDowell Police Department, and Fountain Hills Fire Department. The D.E.R.T. team meets bi-annually to update prevention and response protocols, review team member roles and responsibilities and review the district emergency response plan. School based teams meet regularly to review their site specific plans for both prevention and response to incidents. The district has undergone two site vulnerability assessments conducted jointly by the Federal Office of Homeland Security, MCSO, and Phoenix Police Department. The first assessment provided the basis for the school and district office lobby renovations completed in 2017. The second assessment completed in May 2018 will provide the guidance for addressing site perimeter security upgrades concerning both physical barriers and video cameras.
Another significant piece of the district security plan is the School Resource Officer (SRO). Many parents are familiar with seeing the MCSO vehicle at our schools. The MCSO deputy is actually stationed at the high school through a contract with the Town of Fountain Hills. A Deputy Sheriff is assigned to the district on a long-term basis and is trained to perform three major roles: law enforcement officer, law-related counselor and law-related educator. In addition, the officer works in collaboration with the schools and community as a resource for safety and security issues. This position is paid for by the Town of Fountain Hills and is part of the law enforcement contract.
As a result of the Town's foresight and generosity, FHUSD is very fortunate to have Officer Mike Brooks assigned as a full-time SRO. MCSO has also created a new division to bolster community relations in Fountain Hills and part of that restructure allows Deputy Lenny Miller to augment Deputy Brook's efforts. Federal grants for Resource Officers that other districts use typically have certain limitations on how the SRO is utilized such as being restricted to a single campus or requirements to teach a particular curriculum to students. The contract with the Town of Fountain Hills allows for greater flexibility with our officers. Our SRO can attend to situations at all of our schools. He can instruct students on a variety of law enforcement topics and make presentations on student centered topics such as bicycle safety or internet safety.
FHUSD takes the issue of school safety very seriously and utilizes expertise from a variety of resources at the federal, state, and local level. We want parents to feel confident that when students attend school, it is in an environment that is conducive to learning supported by a caring staff and community resources dedicated to their well being.
