The safety and security of your son along with all of our students, faculty, staff and visitors is a priority for the Administration of our school. In fact, safety and security in our school and around our campus is a hallmark of our culture. Unlike many grade schools and high schools, Saint Ignatius High School operates more like a small college than a traditional high school. With 23 acres, 19 buildings and three athletic fields, most of which house student activities, we take a multi layered approach to campus security. This page provides an overview of our Campus Security including some of the people, processes and technologies in place to support it. These items, plus many more will be reviewed with your son during the first week of school as part of an all school Security Briefing. We are providing this information for your reference so that you can discuss with your son as appropriate. Please take the time to read through this information and do not hesitate to reach out with questions. Pertinent contact information is included below.
Campus Security Team – Under the leadership of Director of Campus Security Timothy Higgins (retired Sergeant of the Cleveland Police Department) and School Resource Officer Michael Guion (active Cleveland Police Officer), our team of Campus Security Officers is on duty from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday and 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. In addition, each school day, our Campus Security team is supplemented with off duty, uniformed/armed Cleveland Police Officers. We encourage our students to say hello and engage with our Campus Security Officers and Cleveland Police Officers.
- Contacting Campus Security – The Campus Security phone number is 216.375.6509 and is monitored during the hours noted above. You and your son are welcome to call this number with any question or concern. This number is printed on the back of every Student ID card and as a best practice, we encourage everyone to put this number in their phone and list it as “AAA Campus Security” so it appears at the top of their contact list.
In addition, following is direct contact information for Director of Security Higgins and School Resource Officer Diaz:
Timothy Higgins, Director of Campus Security
thiggins@ignatius.edu
216.618.6058
Michael Guion '98 , School Resource Officer
Cleveland Police Department
mguion@ignatius.edu
216.509.3853
Focus on Prevention – While we have many processes and protocols in place to respond to incidents, our primary focus is on preventing incidents from occurring. Obviously the physical presence of uniformed officers and other visible security measures contribute to prevention, but we have found the best form of prevention is encouraging our students, faculty, staff and visitors to share information that they see or hear. We have all heard the now ubiquitous mantra “see something; say something”. This simple phrase is as relevant on our campus as it is in an airport or any large urban area. With 1,400 students and over 200 faculty and staff, there are many eyes and ears that we rely on to assist our Campus Security team. Encourage your son to speak up to any security officer or adult on campus – no matter how insignificant he may feel a concern may be.
ALICE Approach to Violent Intruder – At Saint Ignatius High School we teach our faculty, staff and students the ALICE approach to responding to a violent incident – meaning someone with a gun, knife or other weapon looking to harm or kill. We do not mince words and we don’t make light of this. Sadly, it’s a reality in our world and we will do everything within reason to be prepared should an incident occur on our campus. ALICE will be reviewed as part of our Security Briefing during the first week of school. More information on the ALICE approach can be found at
https://www.navigate360.com.
ALICE is an acronym for:
- Alert
- Lockdown
- Inform
- Counter
- Evacuate
ALICE will be reviewed as part of our Security Briefing during the first week of school. More information on the ALICE approach can be found at
https://www.alicetraining.com/
Communication, Training and Practice – Throughout the course of the year, we will conduct several drills – from fire drills to evacuation drills to active shooter drills. Some drills can be unnerving to students and parents – for certain drills (e.g. active shooter), we will notify parents via our School Messenger notification system (text, email, phone – the same system we use for snow days, etc.) that a drill is underway – these notifications are sent after a drill begins and are intended to alleviate any concerns you may have if you receive a text from your son about activity on campus.
Note that in the event of an actual incident/emergency on our campus, we will use the School Messenger notification system to communicate with parents. However, our first priority in any emergency is the safety and security of students, faculty and staff. Therefore, communication will occur only as the situation allows.
The Ohio City Neighborhood – Our school is a pillar of the Ohio City neighborhood of Cleveland. Like any urban neighborhood, crime does exist and does occur. While our Campus Security team collaborates with the Cleveland Police Department to mitigate the risk of crime, it is a reality. All students are encouraged to use common sense when walking through the neighborhood surrounding our campus. First and foremost, students should not walk alone. There is strength in numbers and students should walk in pairs or groups. If your son must walk alone, he is encouraged to contact Campus Security to request an escort to his location. Encourage your son to remain aware of his surroundings at all times and practice the common sense you have instilled in him.
Visitor Management – Saint Ignatius High School is an open campus much like a college environment. All visitors are directed to check in with our receptionist located inside of Door #1 (Main Building) to receive a visitor badge. You will be asked for identification. Parents are required to comply with our visitor policies including check in. Exceptions to check in are limited to visits to the Wildcat Shop located in the basement of the Main Classroom Building.
Surveillance – We maintain a network of almost 200 cameras throughout both the interior and exterior of our campus – your son will be on camera throughout the day.
Maintaining a safe school environment for all of our students, faculty, staff and visitors is a strategic priority at Saint Ignatius High School. Please do not hesitate to reach out should you have questions or concerns regarding safety and security at Saint Ignatius High School.