Safety & Security Updates for the ‘24-’25 School Year
Dear Crossroads Community-
One of our most important goals at Crossroads is to provide a safe learning environment for all students. In recent years, our country and our local community have experienced increased rates of violence, mental health issues and for many, a lack of resources to address these important issues.
To that end, our team has surveyed families and staff, solicited feedback at Superintendent Roundtables, held one-on-one conversations and received guidance from security consultants and mental health professionals over the past year and a half in an effort to have an understanding of the prevailing concerns, needs and solutions. To continue reaching for our goal to make our schools a healthy and safe space for all, we have made great strides in the area of safety and security at Crossroads, district-wide.
From its inception, Crossroads has utilized a multi-tier, trauma-informed approach to addressing behavioral issues in order to build a positive school climate; we strive to provide essential services, supports, and resources to meet the needs of each student and promote social and emotional skills to prevent social alienation and violence. Our model centralizes safety for every student by fostering strong relationships with students, promoting socio-emotional skill building, and enhancing belonging and engagement. Additionally, Crossroads has added layers of security to our buildings to mitigate threats that may come from both inside and outside entities whether that be environmental, threats of violence or other hazards.
In order to enhance and strengthen the current structure for a positive school culture and provide a physically safer structure and system, the following steps were implemented last year and will continue. Please note this is not an exhaustive list, but a summary of key action items:
- District-wide, comprehensive risk assessment process
- Crisis Management Team meets monthly
- Threat Assessment Team meets bi-weekly
- Random bag and locker checks at CPA
New this year at Crossroads Charter Schools: The safety of our students and staff continues to be a top priority. For the new school year, we are implementing two new district-wide systems. If you have questions relating to the following, please reach out to our campus safety manager, Kevin LaBranche at Klabranche@crossroadsschoolskc.org.
- New Visitor Management System: To continue providing safe learning environments, all campuses have upgraded their visitor sign-in procedures to a district-wide visitor management system. The system verifies all school visitors, checks them against sex offender registries and our district’s prohibited persons database, for potential matches and adds an additional safety layer to our schools by allowing staff to keep track of who is on campus. Here are a few things to know before you visit the school this year:
- Starting Aug. 5th, everyone visiting the school for any reason will be asked to provide identifying information that will be checked against the sex offender registries and prohibited person list.
- For an easier check-in process, please provide a driver license or state approved ID card or passport. If you don’t have an ID, your identifiers can be input manually into the system, however it is a slower process.
- LearnSafe: LearnSafe is an automated student computer monitoring system. LearnSafe helps identify and address the warning signs in 4 easy steps:
- Identify at-risk behavior
- Define acceptable use
- Review actionable information
- Manage behavior
- Handle With Care Missouri: A pilot school safety project in the Kansas City area has been expanded to include all school districts beginning September 1, 2024. After that date, schools will be informed when the police have interacted with a student’s family during a traumatic event.
- IT WORKS LIKE THIS:
- STEP ONE: If a law enforcement officer encounters a school-age child during a call involving a traumatic event, that child’s name, and three words – HANDLE WITH CARE – are forwarded to the school before the start of the next school day. NO OTHER INFORMATION IS PROVIDED.
- STEP TWO: As a result of the HWC MO notification, the school knows to OBSERVE the student and be prepared to utilize trauma-informed interventions if the student begins to experience difficulties at school.
- STEP THREE: If school-based interventions do not appear to be making a positive impact, the child and family can be linked to community mental health support.
Crossroads is excited that we can participate in this program. Our participation ensures that we are working toward district goals of creating a trauma informed environment for our students and that students can feel cared for by staff.
- IT WORKS LIKE THIS:
- Scholastic Crime Stoppers: What is the Scholastic Program?
- Over 30 years ago, Crime Stoppers in Boulder, CO started Scholastic Crime Stoppers in which a school or district provides a hotline for students to anonymously report school-based incidents or related crimes like theft, vandalism, or assaults. Students were also able to anonymously report what they know about other students bringing drugs or weapons to school and about fights or other dangerous or illegal activity that someone may be planning to commit on the school campus. Since then schools all across America, including our own metro area, have created their own scholastic programs.
- The number of schools participating in the Kansas City Crime Stoppers Scholastic TIPS Program has now reached over 130 and includes schools from both Kansas and Missouri.
- The Scholastic program is patterned after Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline. The Crime Stoppers Scholastic program allows students to anonymously report crimes via the P3 TIPS app.
- Click here for the form to report an incident.
- Click here to see the KCTV5 news story featuring the implementation of the program here at Crossroads!
New this year at Crossroads Prep Academy: Based on feedback we’ve received from parent/caregiver surveys and in consultation with other school districts and security professionals, the district is implementing three new safety and security measures this school year at CPA.
- Vape Sensors: Many of you are likely aware of the increase in vape usage among teens. According to the CDC, 1 in 4 teens uses an e-cigarette every day. Emerging data suggests links to chronic lung disease and asthma. No smoking of any kind has ever been allowed on our campus yet it has become a larger issue in the recent past both in and outside of the building. After consulting with other area schools, we learned that sensors have been effective and we hope for similar results.
- Portable Metal Detectors: Another trend we observed in survey feedback from families and staff is the desire for more security measures at CPA. Based on that feedback and the continued prioritization of safety, we will be adding portable metal detectors that will allow us to offer another layer of protection for our students and staff.
- Clear Backpacks Policy: Effective September 9, 2024, all students at CPA are required to use clear backpacks. This policy is designed to improve the safety of our school by allowing staff to easily monitor the contents of students’ backpacks. Please note, backpacks that are not clear/mesh will NOT be allowed to enter the building after September 9th. This policy will be strictly enforced and any backpacks that do not meet our policy will be collected at the door and held for the remainder of the day. Please click here to review the policy.
These enhancements have been balanced with Crossroads’ commitment to a trauma-informed, restorative justice response to behavioral issues.
In addition to the above, we are proud to announce that Crossroads Charter Schools
TIPS & INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES
- Please ensure that your contact information, as well as emergency contacts’, is up to date in Infinite Campus. Please contact your front desk admin to make any changes. It is critically important that we can get in touch with you if needed.
- Know that in a crisis, our first priority is ensuring the safety of all students and staff. Once this critical step is complete, we will begin communicating with parents and guardians as soon as possible, often within minutes. We use Infinite Campus to send phone calls, texts and emails. Please be sure that you have not blocked communication from the district or your child’s school. In some cases, the district website, partnerships with local media, and/or social media may also be utilized.
- In an emergency, we ask parents/guardians not to come to or call the school. It is important to keep the streets, parking area, and phone lines open for emergency responders and communication. We will provide information to parents through the district communication channels.
- Note that Crossroads has a 24 hour emergency line that parents, caregivers and students can use to report problems to a member of our safety and security team. Individuals with safety and security concerns or who wish to report a school safety threat should call 816-221-2600 and select prompt 7 to be transferred to the safety and security department. The phone line is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Individuals are also welcome to send an email to our Campus Safety and Security Manager Kevin LaBranche at Klabranche@crossroadsschoolskc.org. The district also partners with the State of Missouri to receive threats through their Courage 2Report website which can be accessed HERE.