PERRY TOWNSHIP, Ind. — Perry Township Schools has a comprehensive plan in place for keeping students safe.
The district's safety plans, which are revised and submitted to the state for review annually, include a school police department, surveillance systems, metal detectors and more.
Perry Township does not have school resource officers. Instead, the district has its own police department consisting of 10 full-time and nine part-time police officers. The officers' primary jobs are to patrol the district's 22 schools throughout the day. The department also has a canine unit that is used to detect drugs, alcohol and explosives on school property.
The school district also takes measures to ensure that no one enters school buildings without permission. Each school within Perry Township has locked entryways, and visitors must show their ID at the office before signing in. In addition, all district employees are required to receive a personalized ID badge that allows front office staff at each school to match the employee's face to the badge photo.
Another level of security includes video surveillance systems at schools. The surveillance systems help administrators monitor activity around the building.
Perry Township schools also received 20 handheld metal detectors from the State of Indiana. Every Perry Township school police officer has a metal detector in their patrol car. Each school also received one metal detector that can be used to assess a potential threat.
Throughout the school year police officers lead a “Run. Hide. Fight.” active shooter training at every school. The goal is to prepare students and teachers for what to do in the event of an active shooter situation. A spokesperson with the district says they are required by law to perform at least one of these drills each semester. In addition to that training, Perry Township school officers also work with Indiana State Police to make sure they are current on the most up-to-date training procedures.
A topic of debate across the country has been about schools arming teachers. A Perry Township spokesperson confirms law enforcement officers are the only people who are legally permitted to have guns on school property. They did not go into detail about whether they would consider arming teachers in the future.
Taking a deeper look into how the district’s comprehensive safety plan was developed, Perry Township says a school safety committee meets three times a year. The committee communicates with the central office and police to address needs and changes in procedures.
The spokesperson says each member on the committee is a school safety specialist trained through the Indiana Department of Education School Safety Specialist Academy. School safety specialists must attend two professional development days per year at the Indiana School Safety Academy in order to remain certified.
RTV6 asked Perry Township schools whether or not the Noblesville West Middle School shooting that injured a student and teacher prompted changes to the school safety plan. We were told the district’s safety plans are continually under review.
RTV6 requested an on-camera interview with the Perry Township Superintendent, our request was denied.
Perry Township School District
The Perry Township school district includes the following schools:
High Schools
- Perry Meridian High School
- Southport High School
Middle Schools
- Perry Meridian Middle School
- Southport Middle School
6th Grade Academies
- Perry Meridian 6th Grade Academy
- Southport 6th Grade Academy
Elementary Schools
- Abraham Lincoln Elementary School
- Clinton Young Elementary School
- Douglas MacArthur Elementary School
- Glenns Valley Elementary School
- Henry Burkhart Elementary School
- Homecroft Elementary School
- Jeremiah Gray Elementary School
- Mary Bryan Elementary School
- Rosa Parks Elementary School
- Southport Elementary School
- Winchester Village Elementary School
Kindergarten
- Douglas MacArthur Kingergarten Academy
- Homecroft Kindergarten Academy
- Jeremiah Gray Kindergarten Academy
- Rosa Parks Kindergarten Academy
Preschool & Other Programs
- Early Childhood Academy (Preschool)
- J.W.R Alternative Program
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