March 19, 2018

Dear Austin ISD families,

We hope that you and your family had a restful and relaxing Spring Break, but we understand that tension may be high as our children return to school in the midst of the situation in Austin involving explosives.

We want you to know we are coordinating with the Austin Police Department—along with state and federal partners—to take any and all necessary security precautions.

This is what our campus faculty and staff are doing:

• Being mindful of anything that looks out of the ordinary.
• Contacting the Austin Police Department immediately if they see anything suspicious.
• Conducting perimeter checks for any suspicious items inside or outside of school buildings.
• Carefully examining all mail deliveries.

We remain vigilant with our safety and security measures, and we need your help.

Talk with your students about being cautious. Make sure they understand they should not touch anything unusual or suspicious, and should report it to a trusted adult or the police. Remind other adults, your friends, family and neighbors to do the same. No matter how minor, if you see something, it needs to be reported to the Austin Police Department 9-1-1.

Additional actions you can take to improve safety when visiting your student’s school:

• Enter through the visitors’ entrance and check in at the front office.
• Do not let anyone “piggyback” on your entry into the school. Ask them to wait their turn.
• Wear your visitor sticker in a clearly visible location. 
• Report anyone you see walking around campus without an AISD badge or visitor badge to the front office.
• Know that firearms are not permitted in school buildings at any time with the exception of those carried by law enforcement. 
• Remember: “If you see something, say something.”
• Follow Austin ISD’s social media accounts that may be used in an emergency. On Twitter, follow @AustinISD and on Facebook, like https://www.facebook.com/austinisd/.
• Follow your school’s social media accounts that may be used in an emergency.

Additionally, you can talk with your child about reporting suspicious rumors or activity. Make sure your children can name two adults at school that they would feel comfortable alerting.

Our campus counselors are trained to support students and staff and are available if needed. For more advice about how to talk to your children about violence, visit the National Association of School Psychologists online resources: http://bit.ly/2khji7j.

The Austin ISD team works closely with the Austin Police Department to keep our students safe. Know that if you receive an alert from AISD, we are coordinating with APD to send those messages.

We are one, large Austin ISD family, and we care for all our children. It takes all of us to make school safe, and we thank you for your assistance in keeping our students safe.

Sincerely,

Paul Cruz, Ph.D.
Superintendent