A look at the security measures that aim to keep students safe at Bloomington Public Schools

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- Parents, kids and educators are getting into the rhythm of the beginning of the school year. As they prepare for class, administrators are working on ways to keep students safe. 

State law requires at least five lock-down drills a year. The Department of Public Safety says the first should happen in the first 10 days of school.

WCCO visited Oak Grove Middle School in Bloomington for a rare look at the safety and security measures the district is taking, and the best practices its emergency management director Rick Kaufman says it follows.

Oak Grove Middle School welcomed students back last week. The exterior of the building designed to keep them safe, with bullet resistant glass that takes time to breach.

Once the day starts, only the main door remains unlocked for visitors. The door straight ahead is locked. It's covered to limit what people can see inside. To the left is the office and the single point of entry. A person has to be identified and approved before the next door will open.

"Different barriers to protect access into our schools," Kaufman said.

Twenty-three years ago, Kaufman worked for a school system in Colorado and responded to the mass shooting at Columbine. He's dedicated his career to keeping schools safe.

"Our staff is really working on: prevention, intervention, mitigation, identifying kids that are at risk, threat assessment practices, mental health interventions," Kaufman said.

He calls it a multi-layered approach that is consistent throughout each school in the district.

"The greatest concern we have is persons already in the building because it's a student or staff member. So how do we mitigate the damage and reduce the likelihood of more harm to others once it's inside," Kaufman said.

If there is a security situation there are buttons to lock doors.

"A third button is really in the most severe cases. That puts the school in lockdown, and that triggers an alarm voice recorded message to get people to move people into their lockdown areas," Kaufman said.

There are strobe lights to alert in loud places like the gym and cafeteria. Internal doors close creating barriers. Every day: classroom doors are keyless and locked. The glass on the door is often covered to serve as a deterrent.

Kaufman says a security audit found where kids and educators should go in the room in case of emergency: Away from the door.

"We never want any student to be in the frame of a door that could be shot through. They're trained on where to go to get out of sightline," Kaufman said.

There's a reminder on the wall of each classroom about what to do in case of different situations.

"They don't know all the work we do behind the scenes to prepare," principal Brian Ingemann said.

Principals like Ingemann are integral to the system working.

"A lot of things we've been doing is just adjusting to what's been happening in society," Ingemann said.

He becomes incident commander in case of emergency. He and others in leadership have radios with a frequency channel to call for help. And they can access multiple cameras strategically placed around the school at any time.

Watching and listening to kids is just as much a part of the plan. That's the intervention piece.

"We're always looking to find signs of change of mood, behavior, grades attendance," Ingemann said.

Ingemann says a student attending school shouldn't notice most of the safety features. They're meant to be in the background.

"You come back to school, it's all about those relationships and memories and we do things that make sure the environment is set for teachers and students to be in the best possible experience to learn," Ingemann said.

Kaufman has also worked with schools in Waconia, Richfield and St. Louis Park on their plans.

Many of the safety enhancements in Bloomington were paid for by a referendum approved 10 years ago.

Bloomington Public Schools also shared information for parents including: resist the urge to call or text your child in an emergency, saying a ring or vibration could put them in danger. 

There's also an app you can download to provide tips. Last August, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension launched See It, Say It, Send It. 

Designed to give people a place to provide tips about threats at schools or places of worship. A grant made it possible. The BCA says it's been downloaded by roughly 400,000 Minnesota IP addresses. It's received about two dozen tips so far. The BCA says it's not intended to replace calling 911.