Dear Parents,
The paragraphs following constituted the letter that went out in December of 2013. Please
continue to support us as we implement our ID Badge policy. As we complete the first few
weeks of this semester, we are making certain all students have the proper ID Badge and that
students are in the habit of wearing them every day. As with anything new, we need to support
the implementation so that bringing the badge to school becomes “muscle memory” for
students. Thank you for continued support.
Safety is one of my primary areas of focus as principal of Habersham Central High School. Our
superintendent, Mr. Cooper, and our board of education have invested in the safety of our students.
We have a state-of-the-art security/monitoring system called ACCESS. Simply put, ACCESS is a
computerized system that monitors entrances into the school. Everything is being finalized, and
Students will soon be given ID badges to wear at all times while on campus.
The purpose of the ID badge is two fold. First, the badges have technology imbedded inside, which
unlocks the doors to the school building. When a student uses the badge at the scanner next to the
doors, the door will be unlocked. It records who entered, along with the date and time. This will
allow us to keep all doors into the school locked. Also, the ID badges will identify both students and
staff as someone who should be in the building. This is critical to the safety of our school. Let me
give two examples of why. The first example is from HCHS. Earlier this year a former student, who
had a warrant for his arrest, rode the bus to school, came on campus, and into the building.
Fortunately he was identified as the day started, and the situation was handled accordingly. This is a
large high school, and our teachers can’t identify and know every student. However, the ID badge
will identify each person as a student of HCHS. The second example is from another school outside of
Habersham where students wear ID badges. Three young men of school age, who were active gang
members, came onto campus with the intent of “jumping” a student at school. A teacher immediately
identified the three young men as they attempted to enter the building from the side because they
did not have badges. The school resource officer was called, and the situation was handled
appropriately.
All students and staff will be required to wear an ID badge while on campus during the regular school
day. To insure compliance with the requirement, some allowances will be in place. So, what will
occur if a student doesn’t wear the ID badge to school? The student will have options. The student
may purchase another ID badge (the first ID badge is free). The imbedded ID badge will be $5, the
picture ID will be $1, and the lanyard and plastic sleeve are $1 each. Or, if the ID badge was left at
home, a phone call may be made for someone to bring the ID badge to school. Finally, if the first two
options don’t work, the student will remain in ISS for the day. Students must have an ID badge to
attend class. The ID badges will be treated the same as textbooks. Each student is issued, for free, an
ID badge, along with a lanyard and sleeve. The ID badge will be collected at the end of the school
year. The student must pay for the replacement of the ID badge is lost.
Again, our goal is to provide the safest school possible. We believe the ID badges are a necessity
given the unfortunate events in schools over the past years, and will provide added security for our
students. We care about our students’ education and well being. I thank you for your understanding.
Sincerely,
Wesley McGee
Principal, HCHS
@Principal _HCHS