District Safety

At Eastern Carver County Schools, the safety of our students and staff is our top priority. As a district, we know that everyone plays an important role in safety and security. We are committed to working to ensure students and staff are safe and one way we do that is by establishing effective relationships with every student at a the building level. We maintain consistent practices, planning and training regarding safety, security and emergency management throughout the district. We continue to invest in hardening physical security while focusing on resources to support student and staff mental health.

While we cannot share the details of our security practices and protocols for safety reasons, updated emergency procedures have been a key focus of the district as we have returned to in-person learning. Our building leaders and crisis teams receive ongoing training to prepare for any potential issue.

Through building design and enhancements we focus on preventing external threats from entering our buildings. This includes locked exterior doors during the school day and co-location of the building’s main entrance and main offices so there is a single point of entry for visitors. Local door alarms have been added to many entry and exit points in the event a door is inadvertently left open. All of our schools also have extensive interior and exterior security camera coverage, with additional cameras recently added. We use a visitor management system that registers and provides identification for any non-staff or students who may be in our buildings during a school day. We also have an emergency notification system to allow for rapid communication within the school’s crisis team and also with the district office in the event an emergency happens.

Our building crisis teams are trained in and help support various emergency procedures, which include drills for students and staff throughout the school year. The district partners with both the Chaska Police Department and the Carver County Sheriff’s Office to provide sworn, licensed law enforcement officers for our schools that assist in developing the best safety procedures for potential threats, assist with drills and de-escalating situations that could result in concerning incidents. We are grateful for the support of our local police and fire agencies.

Many of our practices and procedures to support safety and security are embedded in the parent and student handbook, and can be reviewed here:

If you have questions or concerns about school safety, please reach out to your building principal.

Family Safety and Security Information

Role of Emergency Management

Develop and monitor site emergency plans at the district and building level
Support building Crisis Teams
Provide staff training
Consult local first responders like the police and fire departments
Assess buildings for physical security, identify and recommend improvements or changes where weaknesses are identified
Serve as central Emergency Operations Center in the event of an incident

Types of drills

Drills are an important way of preparing students and staff to be ready in the event of an actual incident. Drills test procedures, build staff and student awareness, and provide training for students and staff. Students in Eastern Carver County participate in the following drills:

Lockdown drills
Fire drills
Tornado drills

Minnesota Statutes require schools to conduct a minimum of five lockdown drills, five fire drills, and one tornado drill annually.

Standard Response Protocol

Beginning in the 2022-23 school year, the district is shifting the language used to communicate incidents. Protocols that students have practiced in drills remain best practices, and are not changed, but the vocabulary we use is aligned to the I Love You Guys Foundation's approach. This protocol is used in more than 30,000 schools, districts, departments, adencies, organizations, and communities around the world.

Examples of what these protocols are and how they might be used include:

Secure: External doors are locked and no one goes in and out of the building, but school otherwise continues as normal because of a safety concern outside the school. This could include a police pursuit or law enforcement activity nearby.
Hold: Students are kept in classrooms with doors locked, and generally school continues as normal. This could be because of an issue elsewhere in the school that administrators are addressing where for the safety of others hallway passage is kept to a minimum.
Lockdown: This occurs when there is a potential threat to the school. Doors are locked and students and staff are quiet and out of sight to the fullest extent possible. Classroom instruction and all building activities stop.
Evacuate: Students and staff are sent out of the building due to a hazardous situation inside the school, such as a gas leak or fire.
Shelter: Students and staff take shelter in a designated safe place, usually when there is a hazard such as a tornado warning.

What to do if there is a critical incident at a school

In the event of a critical incident or emergency at a school, we ask that our families and community do the following:

Check the district homepage and social media for updated information. In a rapidly developing situation this is one of the fastest ways to share information with the community.
Sign up for text alerts from the district through Infinite Campus. Text alerts typically reach families faster than robocalls or emails from the school or district office.
Don't call the school. When phone lines are congested it may impede emergency communications.
Don't come to the building unless directed to do so, as traffic around the building can prevent emergency responders from reaching the scene or interfere with law enforcement response.
Please don't share information on social media unless it's come from the district directly. Rumors spread very quickly and frequently cause unnecessary panic and alarm.

When will the district communicate?

The means and immediacy of communication will depend on the scope of the event and on the potential or actual impact to the students. While it’s difficult to describe all possible scenarios, the following can be used a guide to gauge the District’s level of notification and systems used to communicate with families:

Impact Level	Notification Response	Messenger
Low Impact Incident: Poses no or minimal risk to the safety of students. There are no disruptions to regular school activities, and the incident is an isolated one that does not impact more than a handful of students. Example: A small disturbance or fight. NOTE: Not every misbehavior incident will warrant a notification response.	Phone call and follow-up email to parents of students directly involved.	School
Moderate Impact Incident: Poses a moderate risk to students. Results in some disruption to school activities such as a change of schedule, or cancellation of some activities. Examples: A gas leak, a walk-out, protest, etc.	● Phone call and follow-up email to parents of students directly involved. ● Email to all parents (preserving privacy of students involved) ● Posted Message on school website	School
High Impact Incident: The incident poses a significant risk to the safety of students. This could result in a significant disruption to school activities, change of schedule, evacuation, cancellation of activities, generally impacts many students. Example: An intruder in school or the use of a weapon in school resulting in injuries to students or staff.	● Phone message ● Text message ● Email to all parents (preserving privacy of students involved) ● Posted message on school & district website ● Social media posts	District

Elementary Schools

Middle Schools

High Schools