Safety Information
Center Joint Unified School District (CJUSD) is committed to the safety of our students and staff, and we are continually focused on prioritizing safety. Please r ead through the information on this page to learn more about our comprehensive approach to school safety.
Emergency Protocols
Center Joint Unified School District (CJUSD) is committed to the safety of our students and staff, and we are continually focused on prioritizing safety. Please read through the information on this page to learn more about our comprehensive approach to school safety.
Emergency Protocols
To continually provide a safe environment for students and staff and effectively respond to emergencies, CJUSD has five standard response protocols: Evacuate, Secure, Lockdown, Shelter, and Hold.
Evacuate
This action moves students and staff from one location to another. This may be used for fire, earthquake, bomb threat, or any time it is deemed unsafe for students and staff to be inside the school.
Code Red - Lockdown
This action protects students and staff from a threat inside our campus and organizes the students behind locked doors and out of sight.
Code Yellow - Shelter in Place/Hold
Students remain in rooms, continuing with their lessons. This may be implemented during extreme weather events, when grounds need to be cleared for medical emergencies on campus, or other times it is safer for students to remain inside their rooms.
Secure
When it is necessary to secure the perimeter of the school due to a threat from outside of the campus, access points to the campus are secured. No one is allowed to enter or to leave the campus at this time.
Staff and students are introduced to procedures for each of these response protocols through training and drills. Drill practice is done in a non-threatening way so that staff and students can practice the actions.
If an emergency should occur during school hours, CJUSD will send out ongoing and timely information to parents/guardians.
- Parents/guardians should not call the school. The telephone lines must be open for emergency calls.
- Parents/guardians should also not immediately drive to the school. Access to the school would be for emergency personnel only.
- CJUSD will provide parents/guardians with clear directions about an incident and unification as accurate information is available.
Drills & Preparedness
Drills & Preparedness
In compliance with the State of California, CJUSD conducts the following required safety drills each school year:
Fire Drills (Evacuation Drill)
Elementary schools: one per month
Secondary schools: two times per year
Earthquake Drills (Shelter Drill)
All schools: three per year
Intruder Drills (Lockdown/Barricade or Secure Drill)
All schools: three times per year
Bomb Threat Drill (Evacuation Drill)
All schools: two per year
Earthquake Drills (Shelter Drill)
All schools: three per year
Disaster Drill (TBA - District-wide)
All schools - one per year
Alarm Test
All schools - one per month (may be done as part of other drills_
Bus Evacuation Drill
All schools - One per year for students who use school transportation, teaching them how to safely evacuate a bus in an emergency.
Our dedication to comprehensive safety and preparedness ensures that every member of the CJUSD community is equipped and ready to respond to emergencies, creating a secure and supportive educational environment.
Communications
The district will make every effort to provide information regarding emergencies to families and staff. Because emergency situations are often fluid, the district prioritizes gathering real-time information to provide the most succinct, accurate, and up-to-date information. Depending on the issue, the district will communicate with families via Catapult (email, phone, text), district and school websites, and social media channels.
Report a Safety Concern
Direct Reporting
Concerns can be directly reported to school staff, including teachers, support staff, or any member of the administration. This option allows for staff to gather more information about the incident through direct communication. Meetings can be held in-person, via email, or by phone.
Report a Safety Concern Online/Anonymously (WeTip 2.0)
CJUSD has an anonymous reporting tool (WeTip 2.0) that empowers students and families with an easy app and/or online program to safely and anonymously report anything of concern to school officials—from discrimination to threats of violence or self-harm. WeTip empowers students to stand up for themselves and others while giving our schools the insight they need to keep students safe.
With WeTip, students and families can submit anonymous reports containing text, photos, or video. Administrators are then able to manage incidents in a backend management system which provides efficient and powerful investigative tools to our staff, including the ability to message with the reporter, which will allow us to address issues instantly.
Emergency Situations
For immediate threats or emergencies, please call 911. This ensures a prompt response from local law enforcement and emergency services to protect everyone involved.
Visitors/Access to Schools
All campus visitors will be asked to present a valid state-issued ID, which will be scanned into the district’s visitor management system. Upon reading the information, the system will check the visitor’s information with the National Sex Offender Registry. Once the entry is approved, a visitor badge will be issued that identifies the visitor, the date, and the purpose of their visit.
This system allows us to track visitors, contractors, and volunteers in our schools and provides us with a safe, monitored environment for our students and staff. All visitors to the school must scan into the system and obtain a visitor badge. At the end of their visit, visitors must check out, and visitor badges must be returned to the office.
Secure Entrances
Each CJUSD school has a secure 6-foot-fenced perimeter. All access points to the campus are secured during the school day, with signs directing visitors to go to the front office of the school to register as visitors before they may enter campus. Classroom safe door hardware has been added to all exterior entry doors, which allows a door to be locked on the exterior and unlocked for occupants to exit when needed.
Conversations About Student Safety
Center Joint Unified School District believes in enhancing student learning by providing an orderly, caring, and nurturing environment where all students can feel safe and take pride in their school and achievements.
Having a conversation with your child about school safety is one way that you can help foster your child’s sense of safety at school. Follow the tips on this page for ideas on talking to your child about school safety.
Be Safe
Encourage your child to share any concerns about what they see or overhear with an adult. Let them know that their words help to keep our schools safe. Remember: If you see something, say something.
Be Kind
Teach your child about the seriousness of jokes about violence or weapons. It’s essential that they understand the potential consequences of such actions, both at school and in their future lives. Encourage your child to reach out to an adult if they have concerns about a student’s words and/or behavior.
Be Responsible
Ensure your child knows that items that may threaten students, staff, or district property are not allowed on school grounds.
When deciding if an item is appropriate for school, consider whether or not it has the potential to pose a threat or danger to the safety of students, staff, or district property or whether it might substantially disrupt school activities.
Such items include, but are not limited to:
- Firearms
- Tasers
- Projectile weapons (e.g., slingshot)
- Imitation firearms (e.g., BB gun, airsoft gun, water gun, etc.)
- Laser pointers
- Pepper spray, mace, etc.
- Items with a bladed edge (e.g., knife, razor, box cutter, etc.)
- Explosives
- Lighters/matches
- Blunt weapons (e.g., billy club, nunchaku, metal knuckle, etc.)
- Sharp objects
If you are unsure if your child can bring a specific item to school, please contact your school’s staff, who can provide you with further guidance.
Safe Gun Storage
Gun ownership is a right in the US, but ownership comes with substantial responsibilities. It is a crime to store a loaded firearm where a child might gain access to that firearm.
Guns are now the leading cause of death for minors ages 1 to 17 in our country. Far too often, children are shot and injured or sometimes killed by improperly stored firearms. About 75% of shootings at schools are due to minors having access to guns at home. Over 80% of teens who commit suicide with a gun use one that belonged to someone in their home.
Families who own firearms are encouraged to store them securely, using locks and storing ammunition separately. Educating children about the dangers of firearms is also crucial. For further information, see the Firearms Safety Memorandum in the CJUSD Annual Family Notice.
Information about gun safety and the safe storage of firearms can be found at https://oag.ca.gov/firearms/tips. [EC 48986, 49392; PC 25100]
