Justin DeBolt
Director of Community Partnerships & District Safety
School Safety
School Safety
At Community High School District 155, student safety is our highest priority. We are committed to providing a secure and supportive environment where students can focus on what matters most: learning, growing, and connecting.
District 155 takes a comprehensive approach to school safety that emphasizes both physical security and social-emotional well-being. We know students who feel safe physically and emotionally are better able to thrive.
Our approach includes:
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Campus Safety Supervisors and School Resource Officers (SROs) at each high school work closely with administrators, staff, and local first responders.
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The “I Love U Guys” Foundation’s Standard Response Protocol (SRP) — Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate, Shelter — to ensure everyone knows how to respond in an emergency.
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Regular drills and training with students, staff, and community partners to maintain preparedness and consistency.
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Modern security technology, including access control systems, video surveillance, and alert tools that enhance awareness and response across all schools.
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Student services teams that include counselors, social workers, psychologists, and deans who provide mental health support, intervention, and conflict resolution.
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Family engagement opportunities like Parent University, which offers sessions on healthy relationships, bullying prevention, suicide awareness, nutrition, and study skills.
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District-wide programs and partnerships that promote a culture of care, respect, and inclusion, ensuring every student feels safe, connected, and valued.
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At Community High School District 155, we take a layered approach to school safety, combining trained personnel, controlled access, advanced technology, and strong partnerships with local law enforcement to keep our campuses secure every day.
Controlled Access
All District 155 buildings feature limited, secured entry points for visitors. During school hours, visitors must check in at the main entrance, present government-issued identification, and complete a Raptor security screening against the national offender database. Visitor IDs are held until checkout to ensure accountability and secure exit procedures.
On-Site Safety Personnel
Each high school is staffed with a School Resource Officer (SRO) and a team of Campus Safety Supervisors, providing visible and consistent safety coverage throughout the school day.
- School Resource Officers are full-time, commissioned police officers from the Crystal Lake or Cary Police Department who receive specialized training in school-based policing. They support daily safety operations, respond to incidents, and strengthen partnerships between students, staff, and law enforcement.
- Campus Safety Supervisors are District 155 employees trained in emergency procedures, supervision, and student support. Each building has multiple supervisors who monitor hallways, entrances, and events, assist during drills and emergencies, and serve as the first point of contact for security concerns.
Safety Technology & Procedures
- Comprehensive video surveillance systems are in place across all campuses.
- Keyless staff access reduces the circulation of physical keys and enhances building control.
- Visible ID badges are required for all staff, substitutes, and visitors.
- Regular safety drills and building security audits, conducted in collaboration with first responders, ensure preparedness that exceeds state requirements.
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Notifications
If school is closed, we try to make a decision by 5:00 a.m. The district will notify you by phone and email, using our mass notification system. Please make sure your contact information is accurate and updated in Skyward to ensure that you will receive a call and email. School closing information will also be posted on the district and school websites, and the district’s social media accounts.eLearning Plan
District 155 has an approved eLearning plan in place should a snow day occur. Learning will continue on a remote basis during inclement weather. Students will be expected to engage in Remote Synchronous or Asynchronous Activities. Students should log into Canvas and follow the plans from their teachers. Teachers will have their assignments/activities available on Canvas no later than 9:00 a.m. for all class periods. Teachers will check email and messages throughout the day to ensure students receive answers to their questions.
Decision to stay open or close
When making a decision to stay open or to close, D155 administrators monitor warnings and watches from the National Weather Service; the timing of expected weather conditions; and the blowing and drifting, and/or rate of snowfall. On an extremely cold day, we evaluate actual air temperature, wind chill, and the timing and duration of the low temperatures.
It is important for you to know that we also communicate directly with our feeder districts, our surrounding school districts, Nunda Township and Algonquin Township, our director of transportation at TJA, and our own grounds staff who are deployed to assess the roads beginning at 2 a.m. District 155 operations staff ensure the school parking lots and sidewalks are cleared and salted during and after each weather event. We also make sure heat systems are functioning properly at each school.
Emergency Days
D155 builds five emergency days into the school calendar. As a parent or guardian, you ultimately make the decision to keep your child home during inclement weather. If you choose not to send your child to school, please call the attendance line to have your child’s absence recorded as excused.
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Community High School District 155 follows the Standard Response Protocol (SRP), a crisis response protocol developed by the "I Love U Guys" Foundation. The "I Love U Guys" SRP is used by over 50,000 schools, agencies, and organizations around the world.
The SRP incorporates many of the concepts we already use but offers more clarity and consistency in terminology among schools and first responders across the county, state, and country. It is based upon five actions: HOLD, SECURE, LOCKDOWN, EVACUATE, AND SHELTER. Each has specific staff and student directives that are unique to the action.
Hold
Action: “Hold in your room or area. Clear the halls.”
Use: When hallways need to be kept clear due to an incident inside the building (e.g., medical emergency).
What to do: Students remain in their current room; staff secure the room and continue normal operations.
Secure
Action: “Secure the perimeter. Get inside. Lock outside doors.”
Use: When there is a threat or hazard outside the school building (e.g., police activity nearby).
What to do: Everyone returns inside. Exterior doors are locked, but instruction continues as usual inside the building.
Lockdown
Action: “Locks, Lights, Out of Sight.”
Use: When there is a threat inside the school (e.g., intruder or active threat).
What to do: Students move away from sight and remain silent. Staff lock doors, turn off lights, and instruct silence until cleared.
Evacuate
Action: “Evacuate to a location.”
Use: Used when students and staff need to move to a different location (e.g., fire, gas leak).
What to do: Follow instructions to safely exit the building and go to the designated location.
Shelter
Action: “Shelter for [hazard] using [safety strategy].”
Use: Used for environmental hazards such as tornadoes or hazardous materials.
What to do: Follow specific safety instructions for the given situation (e.g., drop, cover, and hold for a tornado).
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Notifications & Emergency Alerts
Community High School District 155 uses ParentSquare for school communication and emergency alerts via email, text, and app notifications. Notifications will be sent to your contact information in Skyward.
ParentSquare automatically generates an account for each parent, using their preferred email address and phone number from Skyward. We encourage parents to access their accounts so they can download the mobile app and update their preferences on when and how they are notified.
Emergency Alerts
During emergencies, we work closely with local law enforcement and emergency responders to gather and confirm accurate information to communicate as soon as possible. We understand you are looking for specific details in our communications; by law, we can not release student information or disciplinary action.
Student Communication
Students use a similar system called StudentSquare. Staff use StudentSquare to communicate with students about school, sports, and activities. Students can use the direct message feature to communicate with teachers, coaches, and activity sponsors.
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If a school cancellation is necessary because of weather or should an emergency present itself during the school day, a text message, automated voice message, email, and app notification will be delivered to parents.
In most situations, including “snow days,” the system only notifies each family’s primary number as listed in Skyward Family Access. Generally, these are calls that occur outside of the regular school day. An emergency weather closing call usually goes out around 5:00 a.m. Please be sure that you have included the correct phone numbers in Skyward.
In the case of snow days, we will supplement the automated call, text, and email by posting a message to the district and school homepages. -
If you would like your student to receive urgent safety alerts, school alerts, and bus delay information via text message, please update your student’s cell phone number in Skyward Family Access.
- Log in to Skyward Family Access
- Click “Student Info” in the blue navigation bar on the left
- Click “Request Changes for Student” on the right side of the screen
- Click “Student Information”
- Update your student’s 10-digit cell phone number in the “Student Cell” box and click “Save.”
- If an existing phone number is in the "Student Cell" box and it is NOT your student’s cell phone number, you can highlight it, delete it, and update it with your student's phone number. The previous phone number will still be saved in Skyward, and your student’s phone number will be updated.
StudentSquare will take 24 hours to sync after the phone number is updated and saved, before your student will begin to receive alerts. If you have further questions, please email distmail@d155.org. -
ParentSquare syncs contact information directly from Skyward Family Access, the school student information system (SIS), which is managed by the school district. If you or your student needs to update your contact information, please email distmail@d155.org. Please allow 48 hours for the update to be completed.
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Please go to ParentSquare and on the login page, click "Forgot Password." Put in your email or phone number, and you will be sent a link to reset your password.
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Please check your spam folder to see if any ParentSquare messages ended up there, and mark them as "Not Spam."
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If your registration link expires, you will need a new one. Please email distmail@d155.org and ask for a new link to be sent to you.
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To reduce the number of school notifications and emails you receive throughout the day from school, parents & guardians will receive all messages at one time, around 6:00 p.m. Emergency notifications will always be sent instantly.
You can customize your notification settings by going to your homepage, clicking on your name in the top right corner, and selecting "My Account" from the drop-down menu. On your account page, you can find your notification settings in the top right corner and click "Change This" to customize your notifications. Click here to learn how to update your notification preferences.
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You can customize your language settings by going to "My Account" and clicking "Change This" under language settings. From here, you can choose any language you prefer from the drop-down menu, and you will start to receive content in that language. Learn how to update your language preferences.
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If you would like to opt out or opt back in, please email distmail@d155.org.