School Safety

We work every day to make our schools as safe as possible for every person who enters our doors. Our commitment to safety includes the following:

The mission of the SRO Program is to promote school safety by building a positive school climate in which everyone feels safe and students are supported to succeed.  The SRO Program also seeks to reduce violent crime committed by and against youth in our community. The SRO Program accomplishes this mission by supporting safe, secure, and orderly learning environments for students, teachers and staff. SROs will establish a trusting channel of communication with students, parents, and teachers and establish regular feedback opportunities.   The role of the SRO is not to enforce school discipline or punish students.  SROs will serve as positive role models to instill in students’ good moral standards, good judgment and discretion, respect for other students, and a sincere concern for the school community. SROs will provide information on community resources available to students and parents. Goals and objectives are designed to develop and enhance rapport between youth, families, police officers, school administrators, and the community in order to promote overall student achievement and success.

Our students and staff participate in at least one safety drill per month per school building. Included in these drills are:

The online reporting system and the 1-866-listen2me phone system are for students and parents to report concerns which may affect the peace of mind of students or jeopardize the safety of our community. Both resources are monitored 24/7. Links to the reporting system can be found on our website (in both the About and Parents navigation menus).

 

The district continually works with our four local police departments (Hamilton County, Fairfax, Mariemont and Terrace Park) to provide safety training to staff.

 

The district uses a notification program called SchoolMessenger in the case of an emergency. The system utilizes text and email notifications instantaneously, thus increasing the likelihood that our parents and staff receive crucial information in a timely manner. If you did not receive the test message that was sent in September and would like to be added to the list, please feel free to contact Lance Hollander, director of human resources and district operations, at 513-272-7500. 

 

The district has hundreds of digital cameras in our schools to monitor activity inside and out. All cameras throughout the district are connected to a monitoring system directly linked to the district’s School Resource Officer, who is on site at the high school.

 

Mariemont High School uses the Evolv weapons detection system as the next layer of security solutions and tools used to ensure safety. The Evolv Express system harnesses the power of AI and cloud-based computing to deliver a highly efficient and effective way to detect concealed weapons or harmful objects. Students and visitors walk through the system without stopping. Unlike traditional systems that require one-by-one admission, this system allows for a consistent flow of traffic with its rapid AI-technology that is designed to recognize the difference between personal items and items of concern. 

All district school buildings use the Raptor School Security System, a computerized check-in system that screens visitors for sex offender status, alerts staff of custody violations and provides districtwide reporting on all visitors.

 

All district school buildings include a safety vestibule at the entrance and all front offices are secure from the rest of the building.

 

In 2020, the renovated Mariemont High School opened, which was constructed with safety in mind with straight hallways for easy sightlines and wayfinding.

Emergency Plans
Emergency Management apps, which provide web-based systems where critical information can be stored, updated and accessed by all essential school and safety personnel, make it easy for us to have instant access to critical emergency information. We have developed an Emergency Operations Plan for each building in collaboration with Homeland Security.

Mariemont City Schools has a robust mental health counseling program available to students at all four schools with Child Focus therapists working solely with our district. Included in this initiative is our Signs of Suicide program, completed every year for our eighth, 10^th and 12^th grade students. The district also uses the Sources of Strength program at the junior high and high school, a peer-to-peer strength-based, upstream suicide prevention program.

All building administrators and counselors have been trained in evidenced-based school threat assessment through the Sandy Hook Promise. School threat assessment is intended to prevent violence by determining whether a student’s behavior poses a threat of violence to others and how to develop an appropriate, individualized plan to intervene.