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Arlington ISD 'security tracker' will help answer questions for parents during emergencies
Arlington ISD is launching a new way to keep parents informed during emergencies. The district has made a new "security tracker" available online.
ARLINGTON, Texas - Arlington ISD is launching a new way to keep parents informed during emergencies.
The district has made a new "security tracker" available online. It gives parents and community members a go-to location with information in the event of an emergency.
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Many parents across North Texas share fears as their children head back to campus for the new school year.
Arlington ISD is hoping to ease some of those fears by launching its new security tracker.
Districts across the state and throughout the country have been urged by parents and activists to re-evaluate safety protocols this summer after the deadly mass shooting in Uvalde that left 19 children and 2 teachers dead in May.
Arlington ISD Superintendent Dr. Marcelo Cavazos says their new site gives not only parents, but also community members a central resource for emergency information.
"It’s a seamless approach where our families, our students, our community can receive the latest information whenever there’s a lockdown or any emergency. It’s seamless. They can get it via text, on our website and it is a security tracker," said Cavazos.
The district reevaluated its safety protocols following the school shooting in Uvalde which killed 19 students and 2 teachers.
The superintendent said security may be something getting a lot of attention this year, but the district has had a plan in place and law enforcement partnerships for many, many years.
Arlington ISD is hopeful the site will help answer questions during chaotic times.
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Arlington ISD launches new safety alert system
Arlington schools increase security this year with a new safety alert system and website for parents and students. Good Day talked to Superintendent Dr. Marcelo Cavazos about that site that's going live a week before school starts.
"Many times in the past, parents would call and call and call the school during a lockdown," Cavazos said. "Well nobody’s gonna answer the phone if we’re in a lockdown. And they’d get frustrated."
Instead, parents can go directly to aisd.net and click on the security tracker. There’s a list of frequently used emergency terms from lockdown, shelter, hazmat and weather as well as details about what students would likely be doing in each situation.
Parents can also find resources on bullying, reporting school threats and a video addressing some of the most frequently asked questions after the events in Uvalde.
"We would get questions from other campuses or community or teachers at other schools about what happened at that one campus, if it went on lockdown," Cavazos said. "This allows us to put that information transparently out to everyone and the tracker allows it to happen in real time end."
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Students in Arlington ISD will return to the classroom August 15.