The Academy Program, Cedar Hill ISD
Collaborative Community Partnerships

Developed as a joint project between the Cedar Hill ISD Police Department, Cedar Hill Independent School District, and community stakeholders, the Academy program delivers age-appropriate curriculum focused on leadership, character, decision-making, and bullying and cyberbullying prevention to elementary, middle, and high school students.

The goals of the program include creating positive relationships between youth and law enforcement officers and equipping youth with skills that promote healthy, positive lifestyles. Each class session of the Academy involves the presence of officers, a teacher or other school staff, and invited community partners. Students participate in scenarios taught by the officers and assist in leading group discussions. Students may scan a QR code to enter comments and answer questions raised within the sessions anonymously.

The Academy is included in graduation requirements for high school seniors. When students complete the five Academy courses, they graduate from the Academy and receive a certificate of completion.

Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, Carrollton PD, Dallas PD, Farmers Branch PD, and Irving PD SRO Units
Collaborative Community Partnerships

In response to numerous hoax social media threats made after September 11, 2024, which caused significant disruptions across its campuses, Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD (CFBISD) partnered with local municipalities to create an informative video aiming to reduce anxiety in the school community and educate students and parents about the legal consequences of hoax threats. The video features school resource officers (SROs), helping students associate the message with familiar faces and existing positive relationships.

The video was shared widely, including via email and push notifications to all parents, during school homeroom periods for students, and on the district’s Facebook, YouTube, and X pages. The video conveyed that the district takes all threats seriously and that hoax threats are unacceptable and will be investigated, encouraging students, staff, and parents to feel confident in the safety and security of CFBISD campuses.

Nathan Flores, Texas Southmost College
Collaborative Community Partnerships

Texas Southmost College (TSC), located in Brownsville, Texas along the United States/Mexico Border and adjacent to a high-traffic port of entry, has implemented a hybrid security model consisting of a contracted armed security presence 24/7 and contracted off-duty Brownsville Police Department personnel during peak operations, as well as support from local, state, and federal emergency first responders in the event of an active attack.

To support coordination and best practices within this hybrid model, TSC hosted an active attack, full-scale, multi-jurisdictional exercise with local, state, and federal partners. Under the leadership of Nathan Flores, students, faculty, staff, and community partners were involved in the design and implementation of the exercise. The design began with a discussion-based tabletop exercise that included a senior agency leadership meeting and agency representative stakeholder planning. TSC’s safety and security team implemented an incident command system, which provides a structure for organizing, training, and equipping stakeholders with sound emergency responses to the college. Participating exercise players represented a cross-section of neighboring local, state, and federal agencies.

The exercise provided emergency first responders – both law enforcement organizations and emergency medical service organizations – a unique opportunity to practice coordination and communication in a fictitious active attack scenario to better understand, prepare for, and respond to potential incidents on the TSC campus.

Farmers Branch Fire Department, Carrollton Fire Department, and Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD
Collaborative Community Partnerships

The Farmers Branch and Carrollton Fire Marshals along with the Carrollton Farmers Branch ISD (CFBISD) Fire Prevention Training Coordinators developed a video for CFBISD teachers and staff members addressing the most common hazards found during fire code compliance inspections.

They made a "DYNAMIC" decision to put the blame for the classroom hazards on a trio of supervillains and have Batman and Robin (the 1960s hokey version), with the help of the Fire Marshals, save the day by eliminating the dangers. This video is used for staff development and provides a refreshing break from traditional training videos. The video is also shown to students, who love the references and jokes. The video highlights safety techniques to prevent fire hazards and emergencies.

District staff (educators and administrators), community partners (Carrollton Fire Department, Farmers Branch Fire Department, City of Farmers Branch, CFBISD) served as actors and narrators. You can view the video on YouTube.

Handle with Care Collaborative Community Partners, Mission CISD
Collaborative Community Partnerships

Mission CISD is a partner in a new initiative, Handle with Care, which aims to support children who have experienced traumatic events by allowing direct communication between police departments and schools. This collaborative community partnership initiated by the University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley and the Hidalgo County Mental Health Coalition includes various law enforcement agencies and 45 cities and their respective school districts.

When a child has been identified at the scene of a traumatic event, Handle with Care sends the school an email that simply says, “Handle Johnny with care.” Without disclosing personal information, Handle with Care alerts school staff and the Mission CISD Mental Health Counseling Program to be attentive to the student’s needs.

Mission CISD responds to the trauma and provides onsite mental health services at schools. The district has generated an at-risk assessment system protocol that any school counselor can use to identify a student’s mental health needs and facilitate supports which may include individual counseling, crisis intervention, group therapy, Mental Health Moments videos which provide quick and easy access for students and parents to helpful information, and Mission CISD’s mindfulness program – Inner Explorer.

Laurie Christensen, Harris County Fire Marshal
Collaborative Community Partnerships

Laurie Christensen is the fire marshal for Harris County. She is an accredited Fire Marshal, a Certified Fire Protection Specialist, a Master Peace Officer, and a Master Firefighter. She has more than 25 years of experience in emergency response, and she loves to gather people to discuss best practices for improving school safety.

Recently she served on Harris County’s first-ever Safe Schools Commission to develop a standard level of care relating to school safety. She guided a student, teacher, parent, ISD board member, and an ISD superintendent as they worked together to create recommendations to address challenges in schools in the Harris County area.

She recently helped host law enforcement summits with more than 50 agencies to facilitate an open discussion about issues such as how to improve school safety and the need for a common mutual aid channel between fire, EMS, and law enforcement in an active shooter event or other emergency.

Jaime Salazar, Texas Southmost College (TSC)
Collaborative Community Partnerships

Texas Southmost College’s location in Brownsville, next to a high-traffic port of entry with approximately 1.5 miles of international border, presents unique safety and security challenges. TSC’s safety and security team used strategy-based experience to create an interagency community-based policing methodology. This hybrid security model includes local, state, and federal law enforcement along with a private security company.

The methodology includes use of an incident command system (ICS) to organize, train, and equip all stakeholders on emergency response to the college. TSC has used this system to train and conduct table-top exercises with local, state, and federal partners.

TSC also created a strategic communication plan. Students, staff, and community partners are equipped with a technological tool that utilizes crowd sourcing software to report any suspicious activity, behavior, or safety concerns directly to the security team. This tool enables anyone on campus to become part of the eyes and ears of the security team, aiding in keeping the campus a safe environment for all.