PURPOSE: To avoid incidents of consequence by controlling the flow of visitors, parents, vendors and guests within our classroom buildings and hallways. A secondary but equally important purpose is to document who is in our buildings if there is a catastrophic event.
RATIONALE: All of the schools and buildings within the Caldwell School District are important places. These buildings house our most precious commodity, the children of Caldwell School District. In order to maintain the level of safety that the School District has enjoyed, a decision has been made to control the flow of visitors in all of our buildings and document the specific location visited.
PROCEDURE: Each building has signs posted at main entrances noting that all visitors (including CSD employees from other buildings, parents, vendors, and guests) must sign-in before entering. Listed below are the proper procedures:
Upon arriving at a CSD school, the visitor should use the school building’s wall mounted intercom system (doorbell). The intercom is located near the building’s main front door. The intercom allows the visitor to communicate with the main office staff.
The visitor should state the reason for wanting to enter the building. If the reason is valid the visitor will be allowed into the building or vestibule. Once in the front entrance or vestibule, the visitor should proceed to the check-in window and/or the building’s main office.
At the check-in window, or in the office, the visitor will state their purpose. The visitor will present their valid photo driver’s license or other form of government photo-identification that lists the visitors’ date of birth, the first time they are checking out a student. If the staff is unfamiliar with the person, the visitor's information shall be confirmed with PowerSchool.
If granted access into the building, the visitor shall be issued a visitor badge. The badge will display the visitors first and last name, the date and their destination within the building. The badge must always be displayed on the outermost article of clothing. The visitor will then be permitted to enter further into the main building.
If a visitor does not have acceptable photo-identification, an administrator must approve the visit. School district employees from other buildings and pre-approved volunteers must check in at the main office, and show/wear their district issued ID.
Upon leaving the building, the visitor must return to the main office and return the badge. The main office will remove the visitor from the Visitor Sign-In Log.
Parents/guardians always have access to the school to discuss, without delay, problems needing immediate attention. Items such as money, lunches, books, etc. should be left at the office; students will be notified to come to the office for the item.
NOTE: Unscheduled visitations result in interruptions to the school education program and create a potential liability issue. Unauthorized visitors are not permitted on school grounds during regular school hours and may be subject to legal prosecution. Students are not allowed to bring guests to school.