School Safety

Carmel Clay Schools takes the safety of our students and staff seriously and continuously works to provide the safest and most secure learning environment for the children of Carmel.

We collaborate with city, county, state, and national safety officials on national best practices, as well as exemplary resources for school safety, security, intervention/prevention, deterrence and emergency preparedness planning. Each of our schools has a designated Indiana School Safety Specialists in that are trained to lead the development and implementation of school safety practices which will provide a safe educational environment for each of our students.

Please select from the panels below to find additional resources on school safety.

School Resource Officers

In partnership with the City of Carmel, Carmel Clay Schools has seven full-time school resource officers (SROs).

All of our school resource officers are full-time law enforcement officers with sworn law enforcement authority who are trained in school-based policing and crisis response. All of our officers are certified by the National Association of School Resource Officers and utilize the triad concept school-based policing of law enforcement officer, counselor and educator.

Meet our SROs

ALICE Training

Carmel Clay Schools officials and School Resource conduct crisis response training for their staff and students based upon the concepts of ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate). This training focuses on various courses of action that would help participants most effectively respond to a crisis situation. This is an options based training, highlighting situational awareness and decision making. No single response fits all crisis scenarios, however making sure each individual knows his or her options for response will help staff and students react effectively.

Parent School Safety Academy

The Parent School Safety Academy is a unique program to Carmel Clay Schools that educates parents on the school safety principles and fundamentals that guide response protocols in our schools. This program does not reveal details that would compromise safety at Carmel Clay Schools, but provides parents with a basic understanding of school safety practices that will facilitate parental response in case of a crisis and allow for constructive feedback.

During this interactive program, parent participants learn about national and state safety practices, current trends in school safety and how these practices and trends impact safety planning at Carmel Clay Schools. Parent input is integral during the program.

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STOPit App

STOPit is a mobile app that empowers any student to anonymously report school safety issues and reach out for help if they or a peer are facing a personal crisis or experiencing situations such as bullying, theft, mental health concerns, violence, sexual harassment, substance abuse or any other student safety concern. This app is available to students 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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Emergency Drills

Drills are an important aspect of school safety, and will be used as teachable moments for our staff and students. Indiana Code requires each school to conduct monthly fire drills, one severe weather drill per semester, and one man-made occurrence drill per semester. Carmel Clay Schools goes beyond these minimum guidelines to conduct a minimum of two man-made occurrence drills per semester, and participate in the Great Central U.S. Earthquake Drill each year (more information on the Great Central U.S. Earthquake Drill is available online at https://www.shakeout.org/centralus/). In addition, our schools have established strong partnership with local first responders and often have a law enforcement presence at the school during our drills.

Visitor Information

Carmel Clay Schools requires all visitors to check in using our system, School Gate Guardian. When visitors enter a school building, they are required to scan their driver’s license or state identification card for a check of their record and then wear a badge issued by the system while in the school. As our visitors leave the school, they scan and return that badge to front office staff.

Background Check Information

Interested in volunteering at school or attending a field trip?

All volunteers must have a criminal history background check done prior to volunteering at school. If you are a new volunteer, please make certain you have a completed Criminal History Background Check on file. If you have multiple students who attend multiple schools in Carmel, you only need one criminal background check. Your student's school administration will be contacted when the criminal background report is complete.

Criminal History Background Check

As part of the background check process, you will be required to view a short anti-bullying video. After viewing the video, please check the box to indicate that you have completed this step.

If you have questions about this process, please contact David Woodward

Thank you in advance for helping keep our schools safe!

CCS Board Volunteer Policy

When volunteering, please find alternative care for younger children.

School Safety Specialists

Indiana Code requires each school corporation to have a certified school safety specialist, however, Carmel Clay Schools goes beyond this minimum requirement and has over twenty certified school safety specialists. Each safety specialist has completed a five day basic training sponsored by the Indiana Department of Education in conjunction with the Indiana Criminal Institute focusing on the fundamentals of school safety. Each safety specialist also completes two additional days of training each year to keep up to date with state and national best practices. More information on School Safety Specialists can be found on the DOE website.