Visiting Our Buildings

District Entrance Procedures and Arrival/Dismissal Guidelines for Visitors

We are pleased to share with you some updates to our procedures for visiting our schools. These changes were developed in collaboration with our district security staff, receptionists and the Jackson Township Police Department and represent our continued effort to evaluate our security needs and make changes when necessary.

It is important for our staff to be able to focus on their primary mission – to educate our students and to keep them safe. We want to limit situations that draw focus away from those goals so we can continue to provide a safe and secure environment.

NOTE: While all schools are subject to the same protocols, your child's school may have a specialized plan for arrival/dismissal and areas for waiting, etc. Consult the handbook of your child's school for school-specific information.

STUDENT ARRIVALS:

In an effort to allow our staff to focus on a safe and timely student arrival, we will not be allowing visitors to enter the building during student arrival time.

We ask that you wait until 20 minutes after student arrival to approach the building to be signed in for your visit. (An exception would be made for a scheduled appointment approved by your child’s principal/teacher/counselor.)

We realize parents of some younger students are accustomed to walking their child through the doors in the morning. This new procedure allows our staff to better focus on the students during this busy time. (We promise to take good care of them once they walk through the door.)
 

STUDENT DISMISSALS:

With the same safety and efficiency goals in mind as the item above, we will not allow students to be dismissed within 20 minutes of the end of the school day. If you must pick your child up early, we ask that you do so more than 20 minutes before the end of the school day.

If you will be picking your child up early, we prefer you notify the office as early in advance as you can, but at least by the morning of pickup. This can be done through a note sent in with the child, or an email to the teacher and principal. In the event of a true emergency, please contact the school by phone prior to arrival if possible.

This advance notice helps us make arrangements to have your child ready for release without interfering with dismissal times. It also helps to maintain order and safety during dismissal. Please know that we are not limiting a parent’s ability to sign his or her child out of school when necessary. We simply want to allow our staff to focus on the safe and orderly dismissal of the student body.

ENTRANCE PROCEDURES:

All visitors will notify the receptionist using the buzzer by the visiting doors.

At the buzzer, it is expected that all visitors will state the purpose of their visit and/or specify with whom they have the appointment.

If the appointment and/or purpose is verified, the visitor will be buzzed in and must present themselves to the receptionist immediately upon entry.

Visitors will be required to show valid photo identification and sign in to obtain a visitor’s pass.  The visitor’s ID will be held until visitor leaves the building and the visitor will receive a guest badge. This procedure helps us to know that the visitor has departed by ensuring they leave the same way they arrived.
 

LET’S WORK TOGETHER:

We are asking for your help in allowing our staff to focus on our shared goal of keeping students safe and focused on learning.

Please do not hold the door open for others behind you. We realize this feels awkward and against the rules of good manners, but it’s important that each visitor be acknowledged individually through the buzzer system.

We realize there are often instances where early pick-up is necessary (medical or other appointments), but we respectfully ask that you limit early sign-outs to only times when they are necessary.  Also, please limit  “dropped off’’ items to only those items your student truly needs during the school day (e.g. necessary clothing changes, important school work or lunch/items that must be received that day).
With hundreds or thousands of students in a particular school, each unnecessary diversion draws our staff members’ focus from their assigned tasks.

The district has taken significant steps over the past few months to upgrade and implement improved security measures throughout all of our schools, including additional cameras and newly keyed doors. We are continually evaluating our schools and your suggestions are important and always appreciated.

If you should require clarification regarding the protocol, please contact your building principal, who will be happy to discuss our procedures with you. As always, thank you for your continued cooperation as we all work together to create a safe environment for our students and staff.