Emergency Communications:

In weather, hazmat, security events, or other emergencies, our GHTX district will disseminate information as soon as possible to parents and guardians via our standard Emergency Communications System, which utilizes Email, SMS text, and robocalls to parents and primary guardians. The message will be timely and update parents and guardians on procedures on how and where to pick up their students.

– Please do not rush to school during a critical incident. Wait for information from the school on how to pick up your student.

– If you are concerned your contact information is not up to date, please contact your campus Registrar who can be found using this link. 

School Safety Resources
The safety of students and staff is a primary concern of Great Hearts Texas. We believe that parents, students, teachers, administrators, and support staff members all have roles in keeping our schools safe.

While we cannot share all the exact details of our security plans, we wanted to share a few measures already in place.

Security Personnel:
– All campuses have security, safety, and crisis plans.
– All campuses have Campus Safety Coordinators (Find yours’s CSC linked here)
– All campuses have off-duty local police officers on campus.
– Officers are not involved in student management or discipline.
– Officers handle law enforcement matters that occur.
– Officers are there to keep our students and staff safe.
– Officers generally do not issue citations or arrest students.
– Officers assist with traffic management.
– Officers are not responsible for campus Standard Response Protocols.
– Officers do not manage campus visitors.

General Security Highlights:
– All exterior doors are kept locked.
– Generally, campus gates are closed except at times of arrival or dismissal.
– Classroom doors are kept locked during school hours.
– Video surveillance systems are in place to record activities in school hallways, common areas, and a lot of our exterior campus grounds.
– Dress codes and behavior codes are enforced.
– Mental Health services are available from school counselors.
– Campus staff should display their school-issued identification card on their outer clothing.
– All visitors are required to check into the main office.
– All visitors must display valid identification to office staff, and it will be verified against the district’s visitor management system (Raptor) for access or pick-up approval.

– Weekly we inspect our exterior doors to ensure that they are functioning properly and correctly, securing them when closed.

– The district has added comprehensive campus grounds fencing on all the campuses that the district owns. The gating system provides a solid physical barrier to secure the campus when closed.

Campus Visitors
The following are a few things we encourage visitors to do or not do while at school:
– Have a valid form of identification.
– Check into the front office every time you visit.
– Always wear your Visitor ID tag while on campus.
– Report any suspicious activity.
– Follow the campus emergency procedures and staff directions.
– Talk to your children about personal safety and security.

Things NOT to do:
– DO NOT expect staff to allow you access without presenting valid identification every time you are on campus. Even if the staff knows you, they are required to scan your identification card every time you arrive at school.
– DO NOT allow anyone to piggyback into secure areas of our schools. Remember, safety first, it is not discourteous to refuse to violate security practices.
– DO NOT encourage or ask students or staff to let you into secure areas of our schools.
– DO NOT – prop doors open behind you.

TEA Campus Intruder Audits

Since the fall of 2022 the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has been conducting random and unannounced checks of school exterior doors to ensure that they are secure. These random checks are to test the campus adherence to established school access control and visitor management practices. Intruder audits have been conducted at most of our campuses.

The TEA conducts random Intruder Detection Audits throughout the school year. Most of our campuses have had an audit by auditors from the TEA for this school year.
– Auditors will arrive unannounced and attempt to gain access to the school via an exterior door. During a TEA Intruder audit the auditor will check all exterior doors to ensure that they are secure and properly functioning. If they do they will walk to the front desk to report the unauthorized access and report the same to the TEA and the district superintendent.
– IF they do not gain access they will go to the front office and check the campus Visitor Management practices as well as meeting with campus leadership.
– The Auditor will then review the campus Exterior door check logbook for accuracy.
– The auditor will also walk the campus hallways with an administrator and check all exterior doors to ensure they are secure and property functioning.
– By TEA rule campus audits are not open for public review. Any failure must be addressed with both the TEA and the district school board.