Dear Osprey Students and Families,
Nationwide and locally, we have seen rising concerns about student safety which has led to increased security measures in schools, as profiled in this recent article in The Durango Herald. Student safety is our top priority, which is why we invested in hiring Noah Enterprises, Inc this summer to install a new security system on our campus, adding more cameras both inside and outside our buildings as well as a card-entry system at our exterior doors. So far, we have received lots of positive feedback from families in response to these upgrades. While we feel that our best safety measure will always be intentionally cultivating a close-knit, small-school community where students are well known and cared for, we hope that you will agree that these additional steps are valuable.
Students will receive their AHS Student IDs today in their Humanities classes. Student IDs are programmed to work with the card-entry system, and students will need them to enter the buildings. Once we have distributed Student IDs, we will keep all exterior doors locked throughout the school day.
Moving forward, all visitors will need to use the doorbell at the front door of the Michael Ackerman Wing when they arrive, allowing us to buzz them in so they can check in at the Main Office. As always, if students arrive late in the morning, they must check in at the Main Office before heading to class.
If students lose their Student IDs, they must report it to the Main Office. We will charge a $10 replacement fee to create a replacement card. To help students keep track of their IDs, we will distribute clear plastic card holders and carabiners along with the Student IDs, allowing students to clip their IDs onto backpacks. We have also ordered AHS lanyards, which we will have available for purchase.
Students will need to scan their Student IDs when riding buses. The Durango 9R School District has installed card-reading equipment on all buses, including those they provide for us for the Hub Bus, XBlock class transportation and field trips; having this system in place provides helpful information in the event of an emergency.
We recognize that it will take us all a bit of effort to get used to these changes, but we feel confident that this is a positive step for us as a school. As always, we welcome your feedback and questions.
 
Best,
Libby