Twin Rivers Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Steve Martinez sent out a letter to parents on Tuesday in light of recent violent crimes which have happened near Rio Linda High School over the past 5 days.
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Aug. 22, 2023,
To Our Twin Rivers Families,
In Twin Rivers Unified School District, your children come first. School safety is our highest priority, and recent local and national incidents/events highlight how critical it is for all of us to work together to ensure a safe environment for our children to learn, grow and thrive in our classrooms and in the community.
We recognize that it’s hard not to worry and feel vulnerable with each report of a violent crime in the area. There are likely concerns about campus safety, and we want to take this opportunity to highlight our safety and security measures. It’s important for you to know that there are many efforts taking place throughout the district to keep our students and staff safe. We are focused on safety every day and ask that you alert our Police Services Department at 916.566.2777 if you see something or hear something about any suspicious activity on our campuses or near our schools. All of our officers are sworn, uniformed peace officers, trained and certified through California’s Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training.
School Safety Measures:
- Our Twin Rivers School District Police Department has increased patrols in and around our schools and continues to work closely with local law enforcement agencies to coordinate efforts and share information that will help maintain a safe environment.
- Officers conduct foot and vehicular patrols of our campuses 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to deter and stop any criminal activity.
- All school visitors must check in at the main office using a government-issued ID—our system checks all visitors through the national sex registrant database to ensure that no registered offenders gain access to our students during the school day.
- All school sites have video surveillance cameras – more than 1,000 surveillance cameras throughout the district record activities on and near our campuses 24/7.
- We continue to install safety-compliant locks on all classroom doors—doors lock automatically from inside the classroom, making it very difficult for anyone to enter a locked classroom without a key.
- All school sites utilize Catapult EMS (Emergency Management System), giving staff members the ability to initiate a school-level staff alert or a schoolwide emergency lockdown.
- All staff members have and must wear photo identification badges.
- Secure perimeter fencing that’s locked during instructional hours.
- Our Campus Safety Specialists have special training on emergency situations at schools and work hard to develop positive relationships with students and staff.
- In the event of a major emergency, we use the Aeries Communication ParentSquare platform for instant parent/guardian notifications—we can notify parents and guardians via text, email and phone call with ParentSquare alerts if the need arises. We also post alert notices on district and school websites.
- We have extra security measures at all high school sporting events—all attendees are required to enter our venues through a weapons detection system.
I encourage you to talk to your children about safety issues every chance you get. Remind them to be alert about the people they interact with and the places they go when they are not on our campuses. In addition:
- Walking to and from school, students should use the buddy system—avoid walking anywhere alone.
- Children should never talk to strangers and never leave campus during the school day unless officially excused and accompanied by a responsible adult. They should also notify a trusted adult immediately if someone approaches them in an inappropriate manner.
- Yell & Tell—never be afraid to Yell & Tell – if a stranger makes you feel unsafe, always yell “HELP” or “I DON’T KNOW YOU” to get someone’s attention.
The sense of community is one of the things that’s so special about Twin Rivers Unified. Let’s continue to support each other in both good and challenging times. Please make sure your school has your correct contact information and keep us informed of any changes in your phone number or other contact information throughout the year so we can send essential messages/alerts in the event of an emergency.
Thank you for your continued support and entrusting the safety of your children to us.
Sincerely,
Steve Martinez, Ed.D.
Superintendent, Twin Rivers Unified
