Safety & Security

School Safety

The safety and security of students, staff and visitors in the Commerce Independent School District is paramount. CISD strives to ensure a safe environment for employees to work and students to concentrate on learning, developing and achieving academic excellence.

Students and staff are trained and practice Standard Response Protocol (SRP). SRP includes 4 specific actions that can be performed in the event of any threat or incident on or near campus: LOCKDOWN, LOCKOUT, EVACUATE, and SHELTER. These responses are taught and practiced regularly throughout the year in the form of drills. Additionally, all CISD staff undergo mandatory CRASE (Civilian Response to an Active Shooter Event) training annually.
Commerce ISD has a full-time Police Department. CISD PD Officers are present in our school buildings throughout the day, and provide security at after school functions.
During the school day, visitor entry at all campuses is limited to the front/main entrance of the building. Visitors must buzz-in to enter our buildings. All exterior doors remain locked, and students and staff are instructed never to open a door to allow someone to enter.
All campuses utilize the Raptor Visitor Management System, which requires all visitors with appropriate business to undergo screening prior to gaining access to the building.
All staff and visitors must wear prominently displayed district-issued identification or visitor badges.
Surveillance cameras monitor activity inside and outside all Commerce ISD buildings.
Safety and security audits are performed at CISD schools throughout the year.
CISD Police Department maintains a close working relationship with Commerce Police Department and the A&M Commerce UPD; and frequently works together with these departments to investigate potential concerns.
CISD has additional measures and protocols in place to protect campuses that are only shared with specific personnel, and not made public for security reasons.

Any security measures and protocols, when observed diligently, help to maintain secure buildings and promote safety; however, the most valuable tool we have in protecting lives is the human element. CISD strongly urges families to remind their children how important it is to immediately report any safety concern, prohibited item, safety related threats or rumors, threatening online activity, and/or any suspicious behavior they observe.

Families with suggestions, questions, or concerns are encouraged to contact their campus principal.

Emergency Management

Emergency Planning

HOW WILL THE SCHOOL RESPOND TO AN EMERGENCY?
When the Superintendent or Emergency Management Coordinator determines that an emergency has occurred, there are three possible plans of action:

Go-Home Plan: Returns students to their homes and family as expeditiously as possible. Each school maintains names of emergency contacts for each child. That is why it is important to advise the building office if the name or number of an emergency contact person changes.

Shelter Plan: Keeps students in their buildings when it is safer to stay inside than to go out. Ordinarily, sheltering is considered a short-term solution. Specific areas of each building are identified as the safest for occupants. A part of the shelter plan will be a Stay-Put plan. In this instance, all students will remain in their current classroom until otherwise notified. Students in school buildings who are not in classrooms will be escorted by staff to a supervised area and remain there until otherwise notified.

Evacuation Plan: Requires that all building occupants leave and go to an alternate location. Evacuation may mean only going outside and away from the building until an all-clear signal is given. In some circumstances, students and staff may need to be transported and housed temporarily in another location.

IF THERE IS AN EVACUATION, WHERE WILL STUDENTS GO?

In the event that students must be moved to an alternate location, the school will attempt to reach all parents to advise them of the alternate location. Each school has several alternatives, depending upon the severity of the emergency and the number of school buildings involved. Police, Fire, and County and State authorities know of the alternate locations, but for security reasons it would be counter productive to advise of the alternate locations until an actual emergency occurs.

ARE THERE EMERGENCY PLANNING DRILLS?

YES – At least once each year, the District conducts a tabletop drill. Each school conducts sheltering drills and stay-put drills. The sheltering and stay-put drills will be conducted at various times during the school day in order to give students and staff practice in what to do if they are not in their regular classroom. Additional drills and simulations will be conducted by each school’s crisis team – at the discretion of the building principal – several times throughout the year. The District believes that response is best when everybody knows their role and has opportunity to practice.

SHOULD I PICK UP MY CHILD AT SCHOOL DURING AN EMERGENCY?

We strongly encourage parents NOT to come to the school during an emergency unless directed to do so. While every person’s natural instinct in an emergency is to go to the school to safeguard his/her child, please understand that doing so may significantly degrade the school’s ability to respond to the situation. In addition, going to the school may interfere with police or other emergency workers whose sole purpose is to assure the safety and well being of students and staff. Vehicles driving to the school, for example, will restrict access of emergency vehicles or school buses that are loading children for evacuation or to take them home. The building’s staff will be actively working at all times to ensure the safety of all students. While it may seem logical that every student taken home by a parent reduces the work load of the staff, in a fast-moving situation that requires careful coordination and communication, extra vehicles and visitors to the school actually make the task of keeping track of all students more difficult.

WHAT PROVISIONS ARE MADE FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES?

Each school has a detailed plan of action that includes evacuation of students or staff who have special needs.

WHERE CAN I GET INFORMATION DURING AN EMERGENCY?

Chances are that you may not be able to reach the school by telephone in a real emergency. Experience shows that staff must react to the emergency first. District telephone lines will be busy with personnel who need to communicate to emergency services. We will, however, be making every effort to contact parents. School personnel have a separate copy of every child’s emergency contact information. Do not use cell phones to contact the school or your student during an emergency. In certain situations use of cell phones may create a severe safety risk. The District’s Parent Square system will post updates throughout the course of an emergency.

WHAT CAN I DO TO PLAN AHEAD?

The two most important things you as a parent can do are to make certain your child’s school has up-to-date emergency contact information, and to periodically review with your child alternative arrangements you have made in case an emergency prevents you from being at home. Being prepared for emergencies is not only a requirement of the State, but is also taken very seriously by the staff and administration of the Commerce Independent School District. The District has maintained an emergency management plan for each of its schools, a plan that is reviewed and revised annually and after each emergency. This plan addresses an enormous range of issues, ranging from the mundane to dealing with the onset of a crisis, to addressing the social, emotional, and psychological needs of staff and students in its aftermath. The purpose of this guide is to assist in answering some of the basic questions that parents frequently ask about during and after a crisis. Questions like: Where do I get information? What should I do during a crisis? and, Who can I contact for help? When disaster strikes, the first consideration for every Commerce staff member is the safety of the children in our care. This guide provides a brief description of how the District will manage an emergency and how Commerce parents can support our efforts during an emergency. Questions about the information contained in this guide should be directed to your building principal.

SCHOOL TELEPHONE NUMBERS
Commerce ISD Administration

903-886-3755

Commerce High School

903-886-3756

Commerce Middle School

903-886-3795

A.C. Williams Elementary School

903-886-3758

Commerce Elementary School

903-886-3757

GENERAL INFORMATION
The Commerce Independent School District has established emergency and safety plans for each school in the District. Each of these plans is coordinated with Police, Fire, and other officials in county or state-wide agencies. There are five general categories that the plans address. They include:

Criminal offenses such as bomb threats, kidnapping, or violent behavior.
Natural hazards such as severe weather or earthquakes.
Environmental hazards such as exposure to hazardous materials, explosions, fires, or plane crash.
Medical emergencies such as contagious disease, exposure to biohazards, and accident or terminal illness of a student, parent, or staff member.
Death or suicide of a student, staff member or family member.

Severe Weather Plan

We want to assure you that Commerce ISD takes our responsibility for students very seriously and their safety and security is our top priority. Our district continually reviews our safety and security procedures and makes adjustments when necessary. All staff members have been trained in and have practiced specific emergency plans and procedures with our students. The continued support of parents and the community is critical in this effort.

In the event of a Tornado Watch, our staff will be carefully monitoring the weather and we will take safety measures as necessary. If you wish to check out your child in the event of a watch, you may do so. However, in the event of a Tornado Warning where a tornado or funnel clouds have been spotted in our area, teachers will move students to safe areas and will be instructed to take cover (on knees, head on floor facing interior wall, arms covering head). For the safety of the children, in the event that we must lockdown due to severe weather, we will not be able to check students out.

We also understand that such tragedies can create anxiety and concern for both parents and children. While it is difficult to understand or explain such tragedy, we ask for your support in providing your children with reassurances. Please know that our counselors are available to offer support to you and your children with these difficult situations.

school closure

Commerce ISD will use its Parent Square Notification System and social media to communicate with parents when there is a school closure.

AISD Communication Tools for Parents:

For up to date information, statuses, and announcements like our Facebook page - Commerce Independent School District

When there is a school closing for bad weather, emergency announcements will go out via the mass notification system. An email, phone, and text message will be sent to parent/guardians. Parents and guardians are automatically set up to receive these notifications through our student data system. For this reason, it is important to notify your child’s school if your contact information changes during the year.

If no information is given from the district or media outlets, Commerce ISD will be open to students and staff at normal times.

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