School Safety

Our goal in Avon Schools is to maintain safe and secure learning environments. On occasion, it is necessary to respond to internal and external threats by issuing orders to increase safety alert levels. We use standard response protocol with clear, concise language to ensure we respond effectively. It is our policy to communicate timely, accurate information with parents/caregivers and staff whenever a situation occurs that could cause you to be concerned.

The following are the safety alert levels we use in Avon Schools. By being familiar with this language, you will have a more accurate understanding of what is occurring and how we are responding.

	Hold In Place When a hold in place order is issued, teachers make sure students are in classrooms and they continue to teach.  This order is issued to raise awareness that hallways and common areas need to be kept clear. The most common cause of this order is a situation where there is a medical issue that requires space and privacy so treatment can be administered.
	Secure the Building A secure the building order is issued when something is taking place outside of the school. We ensure that students are kept inside and that traffic in and out of the building is paused while the day's schedule continues. If necessary, an officer remains onsite to monitor traffic. The most likely scenario for this alert is when local police or fire personnel are working in the vicinity of the school.
	Lockdown When the lockdown order is given, teachers and school personnel are made aware that there is a threat inside the school building. In this rare scenario, the most common response for staff members is to ensure everyone is inside classrooms or offices, doors are locked, lights are out, and everyone is out of the line of sight. No one is allowed to enter or leave the school.
	Evacuate The most likely scenarios that would cause an evacuation order to be given are the presence of smoke/fire or a mechanical/system failure in the school building that makes it unsafe to remain indoors. Students and staff head to the nearest exit and teachers take attendance when they arrive at a rally point away from the building.
	Shelter The most common cause for a shelter order is a tornado or severe weather warning. Occupants on upper floors move to the lowest level of the school building, keep away from exterior doors and windows, and remain in interior rooms. Teachers take attendance when everyone is in a safe place and resume activities when the all-clear is issued.

Would you like to visit a school?Avon Schools require all visitors to check-in at the front office using our visitor management system, Safe Visitor.  This system requires visitors to scan their driver's license or state identification card for a check of their record.  A temporary badge is provided to all visitors to wear while in our buildings.  As our visitors leave school, they scan and return that badge to front office staff.

Are you interested in volunteering at school or attending a field trip? 

All volunteers must have a criminal history background check done prior to volunteering at school.  You can check with the building's front office staff to see if your background check is current.  If you have multiple students who attend multiple schools in Avon, you only need one criminal background check.

View our Volunteer Policy

Drills are an important aspect of school safety and will be used as teachable moments for our staff and students. Indiana Code requires each school to conduct monthly fire drills, one severe weather drill per semester, and one man-made occurrence (lockdown) drill per semester. 

Avon Schools utilize the concepts of ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) when conducting lockdown drills.  ALICE focuses on various courses of action that help staff and students respond most effectively to a crisis situation.  This is an options-based training, highlighting situational awareness and decision making.  No single response fits all crisis scenarios, however making sure staff and students know their options for response will help them to react effectively.