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Safety & Security

VanGorden Elementary partners with the Liberty Township Police Department for School Resource Officer (SRO) services. 

Ongoing programs for school safety include lockdown drills using lockdown drills as well as monthly fire and tornado drills. Our SRO works to build positive relationships between students and police officers. He also works closely with the school counselor for in-class guided lessons regarding day-to-day safety of our students, including situations at school, at home, and with technology.

Meet Our SRO

Deputy Jessica Rollins

District Safety & Security

The safety, health, and well-being of Lakota students, staff, volunteers, and visitors is our top priority.

  • Safety Teams & Emergency Plans

Lakota’s Safety Team works closely with local law enforcement and emergency management officials to develop and refine an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) for handling crisis situations including lockdowns, natural disasters, chemical spills, bomb threats, missing students and strangers in the building. Every Lakota facility has a comprehensive emergency plan.

  • Safety Drills

Students and staff participate in regularly scheduled safety exercises that include tornado drills, fire drills, evacuation drills and shelter-in-place drills.

  • Controlled Access

School doors are locked, and call boxes are used at front entrances for visitors to identify themselves and to notify the office of the reason for their visit. Security cameras have been added to strategic locations throughout the district to help deter unwanted individuals from entering school buildings and assist in protecting schools from break-ins or vandalism. Cameras inside our buildings also aid in keeping our facilities safe.

  • Bearacade Lockdown System

Bearacade Door Control Systems are installed in classrooms and throughout our buildings, allowing rooms to be secured in eight seconds or less.

  • Safety Tip Line

Lakota partners with SaferSchools Ohio to provide a free 24-hour anonymous tip line to help alert local law enforcement to potential school safety crises. You can report anything that is suspicious or endangering by calling or texting 844-SAFEROH (or 844-723-3764).

  • Raptor Visitor Management System

Any volunteer with unsupervised access to students will be required to pass a criminal background check through Raptor, our visitor management system. Raptor enhances and automates visitor management by reading a visitor driver's license (or other approved government-issued ID) and proactively alerting personnel to potential threats. For approved visitors, the system prints visitor badges that include the visitor’s name, photo, date and destination. Visitors must sign in at the office and wear the visitor badge while at the school.

  • Mental Health Resources

Lakota offers a variety of services and supports to meet the mental health needs of our students. School counselors are available in every school building, and a partnership with MindPeace provides access to licensed therapists.

  • School Resource Officers

Lakota currently has school resource officers serving each of our campuses. These are uniformed law enforcement officers, either deputies from the Butler County Sheriff’s Office or police officers from the West Chester Township Police Department.

Additional Safety Information