Emergency Operation Centers on School Campuses

Ensuring student and staff safety in schools has become one of the most important responsibilities of a school leader. Crisis events at schools have unfortunately become too common in the United States, including those involving high school sports and other activities, and while no community wants to think that “it could happen here,” schools must be proactive in addressing these realities.

One of those school districts addressing this important area is the Center Grove Community School Corporation (CGCSC), a suburban public school corporation located just south of Indianapolis, Indiana, within the unincorporated White River Township of Johnson County.

Following is an interview with Dr. Bill Long, Ed.D., assistant superintendent for operations, Center Grove Community School Corporation (CGCSC), regarding the corporation’s creative and collaborative approach to increasing school safety. Long oversees the Center Grove Police Department (CGPD) and Student Services for the district.

Question: Can you describe some of your responsibilities as they relate to student and staff safety?
Bill Long: I work alongside CGPD Chief Ray Jackson to collaborate with other community first responders to review and improve both district and individual school safety plans. Center Grove Community School Corporation has an enrollment of 9,170 students (PreK-12). The district has 10 schools and covers 42 square miles. It is one of the largest unincorporated areas in the state.

Question: Can you describe how Center Grove came to have its own police department?
Bill Long: Indiana passed a new law in 2008 that allowed school corporations to establish their own police departments. In February of that same year, the CGCSC Board of School Trustees authorized the establishment of the Center Grove Police Department (CGPD). CGPD was the second school police department in Indiana and currently consists of the Chief of Police, five School Resource Officers (SRO), four School Safety Officers (SSO), and three K-9 dogs trained in drug, weapon and explosive detection.

Question: What type of training and certification do these officers complete?
Bill Long: All of CGPD’s SROs are graduates of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy and both SROs and SSOs have completed training by the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO). Each Resource Officer is a Certified Indiana School Safety Specialist and has completed Adolescent Mental Health Training. CGPD was the first school police department in Indiana to be recognized by NASRO when it received the Model SRO Agency Award in June of 2019. This national award is something we are very proud of.

Question: Can you describe some of the processes you have employed as you review the district and building safety plans?
Bill Long: In 2019, CGCSC entered into a contract with Safe Havens International to complete a safety audit of the entire district. The outcome of that audit revealed two significant gaps in our safety plans. The recommendations included a need to increase live monitoring of our cameras and alarms as well as a need to reduce response times of first responders to crisis events that may occur at our schools. The district has nearly 700 cameras located throughout the district but did not have a central location or dedicated staff to monitor them.

Following the audit by Safe Havens International, CGCSC and CGPD staff arranged a visit to Littleton Public Schools in Littleton, Colorado, where we met with Guy Grace, who was the director of security and emergency planning for the Littleton Public Schools. That visit solidified our need to design and build a dedicated facility that would not only provide a space for a monitoring facility, but would also allow us to reduce the response time to our main campus, where nearly 10,000 people pass through on a daily basis.

Question: How did you develop a plan to support the construction of a dedicated facility?
Bill Long: CGCSC had previously sold property to one of the two fire departments, White River Township Fire Department, and Bargersville Community Fire Department, that cover our district. That property was located adjacent to Center Grove Middle School North and Pleasant Grove Elementary schools, in the northern portion of the district. White River Township Fire Department then utilized that property to build a new headquarters that had been displaced by I-69 Interstate construction. This new facility significantly reduced response time for these two buildings.

Since the main campus, consisting of Center Grove Elementary, Center Grove Middle School Central and Center Grove High School are supported by both fire departments, we began additional conversations on ways that the three agencies could collaborate to reduce response times and serve as a deterrent to anyone who wanted to do harm to our students or staff on our main campus. The idea of building and staffing an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on existing school corporation property was the result of these initial conversations.

Question: How were you able to bring all of these agencies together to make this a reality?
Bill Long: The initial concept was reviewed by the Fire Protection Boards, as well as the Board of School Trustees, and was well received by everyone. Each Board was able to develop a plan that allowed for the construction, staffing and equipping of the Center Grove Emergency Operations Center/Station 254. In addition, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department became involved and decided to relocate one of its satellite offices to the EOC as well.

Question: What does the facility consist of?
Bill Long: The approximately 14,100-square-foot building provides a central monitoring location for the nearly 700 security cameras, alarms and severe weather conditions in the school district. CGPD occupies approximately 5,100 square feet of the building, which includes its headquarters, a live monitoring room and kennels for the three K-9s. This space also includes the satellite office for the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department.

The White River Township Fire Department and the Bargersville Community Fire Department occupy the remaining 9,000 square feet. This portion of the facility contains eight individual dorm and locker rooms with four bathrooms and three apparatus bays. The two agencies provide EMS and fire services to all of White River Township and the schools as needed. A full-time staff of firemen and paramedics are on site 24/7, and they are equipped with a ladder truck and an ambulance.

Question: How has this facility impacted the district and local community?
Bill Long: Thanks to the fiscal responsibility of the Boards, this facility was able to be built, staffed and equipped without increasing taxes for residents of White River Township. According to Joel Thacker, the Indiana state fire marshal, this is the first station in Indiana jointly manned by different fire departments. In fact, this joint-venture between four government entities is the first of its kind in a K-12 setting in Indiana – and possibly the United States.

The first week the building was open, the ambulance and fire department responded to a medical emergency at one of our elementary schools in under 90 seconds. Their quick response and immediate transport to the hospital allowed this student to receive lifesaving care. It’s just one example of how critically important it is to have the right people, in the right place, at the right time.

This collaborative model may be something that can be replicated in other school corporations and serves as an example of how multiple agencies can leverage their resources for the benefit of an entire community.