As we begin the new school year, the William Floyd School District would like to update families regarding school security. While we will not go into too much detail for obvious reasons, it is important to reiterate all that has been done, all that we continue to do and inform families of any changes for this upcoming school year.

The district will continue to be hypervigilant when it comes to school safety and security. Protecting the nearly 9,000 students that we have the privilege to serve, as well as the 1,500 employees who are providing that service, is the absolute number one priority in all that we do. Students cannot thrive and our faculty and staff cannot be effective if they do not feel safe.

In recent years, we have made investments to expand our security force to become one of the largest among districts across Long Island. We are in constant communication with our partners in law enforcement and work closely with our school resource officer and officers from the Suffolk County Police Department on a regular basis. As you know, we hold lockdown drills (announced and unannounced) to prepare for an emergency situation. Schools are always in lockout (locked from the inside) – not to be confused with lockdown. The district will continue with strict entry procedures for any visitors during the school day, showing identification will be required, and visitors will have to enter the building through one entryway into a vestibule, with another set of locked doors before entering into the school.

The district will continue to host our partners in law enforcement – SCPD and the Suffolk Sheriff’s Office for in-school presentations and security assessments, as well as the Department of Homeland Security to review and ensure our security plan is the best it can be.

Some new security measures for this school year include:

• Continuing to increase the security staff.
• Increasing emergency response training.
• Locking all classroom doors across the district during the school day. 
• Installation of the SCPD Rave Panic Button throughout the district, which will ensure faster police response times in an emergency.

Please know that the district is doing all that it can each and every day pertaining to security. We will continue to be vigilant and ask that if you see something, please say something. We have a confidential tip hotline available, (631-874-1200), in which students, staff or members of the community can call and leave an anonymous message at any time.

Thank you for your partnership and we look forward to an amazing school year.