Safety & Security

WSD3 maintains a district-wide, integrated network of security systems, including:

• Access-control and proximity card readers at key entrances

• Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras for 24-hour monitoring

• Intruder detection and alert systems

These technologies help us:

• Verify who is entering our buildings

• Deter and document vandalism or unauthorized access

• Lock down buildings remotely if needed

• Provide live camera feeds to first responders during emergencies

Each school’s system connects to a central district security office for coordinated monitoring and response.

While no system can remove every risk, we take far-reaching preventive measures every day:

• All visitors must check in through the main office and wear a visitor badge

• Staff are trained to stop and verify anyone not wearing identification

• Students are encouraged to report unfamiliar individuals

• Non-essential doors remain locked during the school day

• Law enforcement and district officers regularly patrol and train on campuses

Together, these steps keep our schools secure and our students focused on learning.

• All schools follow the National Incident Command System (NIMS) for emergency response
• Each school’s Incident Command Team includes CPR, First Aid, and AED-trained staff
• Every school is equipped with Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs)
• District radio systems connect directly with local police, fire, and EMS
• First responders regularly train in our buildings
• Emergency Procedures Handbooks (flip-chart format) are kept in every room
• Virtual floor plans and Emergency Management Plans are shared and updated each semester with local agencies
• Security and emergency planning improvements are funded annually

WSD3 uses the Raptor Visitor Management System at all schools.
This system scans visitor IDs and checks them against national sex-offender databases before printing a photo badge. Only limited information (name, birth date, partial license number, photo) is collected and never shared.

Raptor adds another layer of protection—ensuring we always know who is in our schools.

 

Students and families can share safety concerns 24/7 through Safe2Tell®, a confidential reporting system managed by the Colorado Department of Law.

Phone Number: 1-877-542-7233

Submit a Tip Online

All reports are anonymous and protected by Colorado law (C.R.S. 07-197).

The Safety and Security Department understands that if an emergency occurs at school or an office, there is usually not much time to warn students, employees and guest about what is happening or what to do. That is why the Widefield School District 3 has implemented the Standard Response Protocol v2.x (SRP-Extended) at all of its facilities.

Standard Response Protocol is not based on individual scenarios, but rather on the response to any given scenario. SRP demands a specific vocabulary, but also allows for great flexibility. The premise is simple - there are four specific actions that can be performed during an incident.

• Hold! In Your Classroom is an action that may be used when building hallways need to be cleared of students. Although not a universal action of SRP v2, schools may use this additional action as part of SRP - Extended (SRP-X).
• Secure is followed by the Directive: "Secure the Perimeter" and is the protocol used to safeguard students and staff within a building.
• Lockdown is followed by "Locks, Lights, Out of Sight" and is the protocol used to secure individual rooms and keep students quiet and in place.
• Evacuate is always followed by a location, and is used to move students and staff from one location to a different location in or out of the building.
• Shelter is always followed by a type and a method and is the protocol for group and self protection. These specific actions can act as both a verb and a noun.

EXAMPLE: If the action is "Lockdown", it would be announced on public address as "Lockdown! Locks, Lights, Out of Sight." All actions are to be repeated twice. Communication to local Law Enforcement Agency would be "We are under Lockdown."

In addition, each response has very specific student and staff action. The Evacuate response is always followed by a location: "Evacuate to the Bus Zone." Responses can also be chained. " Evacuate to Hallway. Shelter for Tornado. Drop, Cover and Hold."

The SRP is now in place in literally thousands of schools around the country and over the last year or two is becoming the standard in school safety training.

• SRP Parent Information (English)
• SRP Parent Information (Spanish)

For more information visit the I Love U Guys Foundation Website.

Introduction to the Incident Command System for Schools

IS-100.SCA Course Overview

The Emergency Management Institute developed the Introduction to ICS for Schools (IS-100.SCa for Schools) course in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education.  The course is designed primarily for kindergarten through high school personnel.
The overall course goal is to promote school safety by:

• Familiarizing you with how ICS principles can be applied in school-based incidents.
• Preparing you to interface with community response personnel
• Primary Audience
• The primary audience includes kindergarten through high school personnel.

Prerequisites

N/A. However, completion of IS 700, National Incident Management System (NIMS), An Introduction is recommended.

Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning for Schools

Course Overview

This course covers basic information about developing, implementing, and maintaining a school emergency operations plan (EOP). The goal of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the importance of schools having an EOP and basic information on how an EOP is developed, exercised, and maintained. The topics addressed in this course include:

• Understanding incident management.
• Forming the planning team.
• Understanding the situation.
• Developing a school emergency operations plan.
• Incorporating the Incident Command System principles and roles in the school emergency operations plan.
• Training, exercising, and maintaining the school emergency operations plan.

Primary Audience

This course is designed for teachers, substitute teachers, counselors, parent volunteers, coaches, bus drivers, and students. However, anyone with a personal or professional interest in school preparedness is welcome to participate. School administrators, principals, and first responders alike will find useful information in this course.

Prerequisites

None

FEMA website and course details